App plugin for user consent collection

Abstract

Systems and methods related to user consent collection for sharing of personal data of an end user are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user comprises, at a Communication Service Provider (CSP) application plugin or CSP application executing on an end user device associated to the end user, in response to being invoked by an Application Service Provider (ASP) application, sending, to a consent management function of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application. The method further comprises, at the consent management function of the CSP, obtaining ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application, obtaining existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any, and sending a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application.

Description

APP PLUGIN FOR USER CONSENT COLLECTIONRelated Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 662,144, filed June 20, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to obtaining user consent from an end user for sharing personal data of the end user from a Communication Service Provider (CSP) to an Application Service Provider (ASP).Background

[0003] Communication Service Providers (CSPs) engage in making end user (the CSP's subscriber) data, device information, and network information available via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for consumption by Application Service Providers (ASP). ASPs use this information to implement different use cases within their applications, e.g. fraud prevention.

[0004] When CSPs process personal data in the European Union (EU), they fall under the regulations of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In other jurisdictions, other legal frameworks apply. Typically, when the CSPs expose personal data, they must obtain the end user's consent; however, for some use cases, other legal basis may be used.

[0005] GDPR introduces a legal framework for protecting the processing of "personal data" linked to natural persons, and introduces the terminology of "Controller", "Processor", and "data subject." As defined in Article 4 of the GDPR, '"personal data' means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person fdata subject7); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person." As defined in Article 4 of the GDPR, "'controller' means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others,determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law." As defined in Article 4 of the GDPR, "'processor' means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller."

[0006] CSPs act as controllers of their subscriber's personal data. In GDPR terminology, the subscribers are called "data subjects" and act as resource owners for their personal data. The CSP, as controller, is responsible for ensuring that the CSP has a legal basis for the processing of the personal data of the CSP's subscribers, as resource owners. This means that, when relying on consent as a legal basis, the CSP is responsible for collecting the data subject's consent.

[0007] When collecting consent, the intended processing must have a clearly specified context (e.g., indicated by the ASP's application), purpose, and scope. This information must be presented to the user during the consent collection process.

[0008] Systems and methods related to an application or application plugin for user consent collection for sharing of personal data of an end user of a Communication Service Provider (CSP) with an Application Service Provider (ASP) application are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of a CSP with an ASP application comprises, at an ASP application executing on an end user device of the end user, receiving, from an ASP application backend, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for invoking a CSP application plugin or CSP application and invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL to obtain consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of the end user associated to the end user device. The method further comprises, at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin or CSP application, sending, to a consent management function of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application. The method further comprises, at the consent management function of the CSP, receiving the request from the CSP application plugin or CSP application, obtaining ASP application specific consent data for the ASPapplication, obtaining existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any, and sending a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application, the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any. The method further comprises, at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, receiving the response from the consent management function of the CSP, displaying, at the end user device, one or more consent options based on the combined consent data, and receiving user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application. In this manner, the CSP is enabled to comply with their legal obligations for capturing user consent prior to exposing the personal data of their end users.

[0009] In one embodiment, the ASP application specific consent data comprises any one or more of the following: information that indicates a scope of the personal data that the ASP application wants to process; information that indicates a purpose for processing of the personal data with the ASP application; legal basis that is to be used to allow access to the personal data; one or more supported consent constraints; consent validity configuration.

[0010] In one embodiment, the method further comprises, prior to the ASP application receiving the URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application, at the ASP application backend, obtaining one or more URLs for obtaining consent via the CSP application plugin or CSP application, selecting the URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to be used by the ASP application at the end user device, and sending the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the ASP application at the end user device. In one embodiment, sending the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the ASP application at the end user device comprises sending the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the ASP application at the end user device together with an encrypted identity token for the end user. In one embodiment, at the ASP application, invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL comprises invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL and the encrypted identity token. In one embodiment, the request sent from the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the consent management functionof the CSP comprises the encrypted identity token. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the consent management function of the CSP, extracting an identifier of the end user from the encrypted identity token, wherein obtaining the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any, comprises obtaining the existing consent data using the extracted identifier of the end user. In another embodiment, the method further comprises, at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin or CSP application for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of the end user associated to the end user device: obtaining a carrier token, wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the consent management function of the CSP comprises the carrier token and optionally the identity token. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the consent management function of the CSP, validating the end user as owner of the personal data based on the carrier token and the encrypted identity token.

[0011] In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, sending, to the consent management function of the CSP, a request to store consent data for the end user that reflects the provided or denied consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0012] Embodiments of a method performed by a CSP application plugin or CSP application are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a CSP application plugin or CSP application at an end user device for obtaining consent for sharing of personal data of an end user of a CSP with an ASP application comprises, responsive to being invoked by an ASP application to obtain consent from an end user of the end user device for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of the end user: sending, to a consent management function of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application; receiving a response from the consent management function of the CSP, the response comprising combined consent data comprising ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any; displaying, at the end user device, one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and receiving user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0013] In one embodiment, the ASP application specific consent data comprises any one or more of the following: information that indicates a scope of the personal data that the ASP application wants to process, information that indicates a purpose for processing of the personal data with the ASP application, legal basis that is to be used to allow access to the personal data, one or more supported consent constraints, consent validity configuration.

[0014] In one embodiment, the request sent from the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the consent management function of the CSP comprises an encrypted identity token for the end user received from the ASP application when the CSP application plugin or CSP application is invoked. In one embodiment, the method further comprises obtaining a carrier token, wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the consent management function of the CSP comprises the carrier token and the encrypted identity token.

[0015] In one embodiment, the method further comprises sending, to the consent management function of the CSP, a request to store consent data for the end user that reflects the provided or denied consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0016] Corresponding embodiments of a computer program, carrier, and non- transitory computer-readable medium are also disclosed herein.

[0017] Embodiments of an end user device are also disclosed. In one embodiment, an end user device comprises one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, memory storing first software instructions corresponding to an ASP application and second software instructions corresponding to a CSP application plugin or CSP application, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry configured to execute the first and second software instructions whereby the ASP application receives, from an ASP application backend, a URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application for obtaining consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device and invokes the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL to obtain consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device. Further whereby, the CSP application plugin or CSP application, in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin or CSP application for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, ofpersonal data of the end user associated to the end user device: sends, to a consent management function of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application; receive a response from the consent management function of the CSP, the response comprising combined consent data comprising ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any; display, at the end user device, one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and receives user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0018] Embodiments of a method performed by a consent management function of a CSP for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of the CSP with ASP applications are also disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a consent management function of a CSP for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of the CSP with ASP applications comprises receiving a request from a CSP application plugin or CSP application at an end user device, the request being a request for current consent data for sharing, by the CSP with an ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device, obtaining ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application, obtaining existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any, and sending a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application, the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any.

[0019] Corresponding embodiments of a computer program, carrier, and non- transitory computer-readable medium are also disclosed.Brief of the

[0020] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0021] Figure 1 illustrates a system in accordance with one example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figures 2A-2C, 3A-3C, and 4A-4D illustrate exemplary embodiments of an end-to-end flow where an Application Service Provider (ASP) application at an end user device interacts with a Communication Service Provider (CSP) network either directly or via an aggregator to redirect the ASP application to a CSP application plugin or CSP application for capturing consent for sharing of personal information of the end user from the CSP to the ASP application, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0024] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device (e.g., a User Equipment, UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.Detailed Description

[0027] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0028] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Consent management functionality and especially consent capture is an almost white space in the industry. Only consent capture related to cookie handling is a common functionality, and it has not been implemented in a consistent way.

[0029] There is no existing user-friendly or convenient mechanism for Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to collect end user consent in order to make personal data that the CSP holds available to Application Service Providers (ASPs). Many end users will not even have their CSP's application installed on their device, making it even harder for the CSP to interact with their subscriber.

[0030] In parallel, there is no mechanism for ASPs, who want to use the CSP's Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), to implement a user-friendly, consistent, and legally compliant consent capture solution that the CSP can trust.

[0031] Considering the fact that the legal frameworks applicable to CSPs differ very much from each other, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) being one prominent example only, there is a need for a mechanism which allows an ASP to trigger consent capture functionality from their application in a way that is trusted by the CSP and to which the CSP can comply with their legal obligations.

[0032] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the aforementioned or other challenges. Embodiments of the solution(s) disclosed herein address the needs of ASPs who need to trigger consent capture and CSPs who need to capture consent in a user-friendly, legally compliant, and trusted way.

[0033] Without embodiments of the present disclosure, collecting end user consent is a cumbersome task without a standard solution. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new approach for collecting end user consent by leveraging a CSP application plugin or application, which is invoked from the ASP's application on the end user's (e.g., CSP subscriber's) device. The CSP's application plugin is realized via different technologies depending on the operating system of the device and may also be embedded within the CSP's application if installed on the device.

[0034] The CSP's application plugin or application interacts with a consent management function of the CSP to retrieve the consent needs of an ASP's application in line with previously registered application data and the CSP's legal configuration. The consent needs are derived from information conveyed when an ASP registers their application to use the CSP's APIs. During this registration process, the ASP specifies the data scopes they want to access when calling the API, and the purpose for processing any personal data. Once consent information has been captured via the CSP's application plugin or application, the consent choices of the end user are persisted in the CSP's consent management storage.

[0035] The CSP's consent management function controls access to the end user's personal data, which the ASP is interested in processing. The CSP's consent management function will evaluate the end user's consent choices alongside the CSP'slegal configuration before allowing access to the end users' personal data by an ASP's application.

[0036] Preferably, the end user engaging in the consent collection process is securely identified by the CSP to avoid malicious processing of the end user's data.

[0037] Embodiments of the solution described herein may include either or both of the following aspects:1) A CSP owned application plugin or application for consent management, which can be called from an ASP's application running on a device, and which allows the CSP to trust the identity of the end user and the validity of their consent choices.2) Populating the content of the CSP's application plugin or application specific to the ASP's application registration data and consent options from the CSP, in line with the legal obligations of the CSP.

[0038] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new mechanism that allows a CSP to comply with their legal obligations for capturing user consent when exposing and processing the personal data of their end users. Embodiments may also allow ASPs to integrate consent management into their application flows. Embodiments may also allow CSPs to provide full transparency to the end user, showing them their consent options and allowing them to manage their consent for the ASP's application.

[0039] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to collecting user consent for handling and exposure of personal data maintained by a CSP.

[0040] Embodiments of the present disclosure address the need of managing the consent of end users for an ASP's use of end user data controlled by the CSP. A consent management function of the CSP supervises access to the end user's personal data, which the ASP is interested in interacting with. The personal data is owned by the end user (an individual) and controlled by the CSP, who may need to acquire the end user's consent for providing access to this data to an ASP's application.

[0041] Collecting the end user's consent happens within a CSP-owned application plugin or application on the end user's device that is accessed from the ASP's application on the device. The CSP application plugin or application can be realized via different technologies depending on the operating system of the device and application architecture. Examples are "App Clips" and "Instant Apps" supported by iOS andAndroid respectively; the same functionality can also be provided by the CSP's full application. The application plugin or application interacts with the CSP's consent management function to display consent options and to store the results of any end user selections.

[0042] The CSP evaluates the end user's consent selections before the end user's personal data is made available to an ASP.

[0043] Figure 1 illustrates a system 100 in accordance with one example embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the system 100 includes an end user device 102 and a CSP network 104. For example, the end user device 102 may be a User Equipment (UE), and the CSP network 104 may be a wireless communication network such as, e.g., a 3GPP network (e.g., a 5thGeneration (5G) network or 6thGeneration (6G) network). The end user device 102 is associated with (e.g., owned by) an end user. The end user device 102 includes a CSP application 106 and / or a CSP application plug-in 108. In addition, the end user device 102 includes an ASP application 110. The end user device 102 also includes a modem 112 for communication with and over the CSP network 104. The CSP network 104 includes an application registration function 114 and a consent management function 116, each of which may be implemented in software that is executed by one or more network nodes (e.g., physical network nodes or virtual network node(s) implemented in a cloud-based architecture).

[0044] The CSP offers the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, which ASPs can call out to from their applications (e.g., the ASP application 110). In one example, the end user device 102 includes the CSP application plug-in, and the CSP application plugin 108 is realized with appclip technology in case of iOS and instant app technology in case of Android OS. Note that the CSP application plug-in 108 can be realized via other technologies for other device operating systems. The functionality of the CSP application plug-in 108 can also be provided by the CSP's fully installed application (i.e., the CSP application 106), which contains the CSP application plug-in 108.

[0045] The CSP application plugin 108 or the CSP application 106 interacts with the consent management function 116 of the CSP. The consent management function 116 of the CSP interacts with the application registration function 114 of the CSP to retrieve the ASP's pre-registered application configuration (i.e., the application configuration ofthe ASP application 110) and any existing (i.e., stored) consent choices of the end user. The consent management function 116 of the CSP can provide the existing consent choices and consent options to the CSP application plugin 108 or the CSP application 106 on request. The CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 can then collect the end user's choices and communicate them back to the consent management function 116 of the CSP.

[0046] While not illustrated in Figure 1, the system 100 may include additional components such as, e.g., an ASP application backend, an aggregator, a consent database (of the CSP, e.g., in the CSP network 104), an enrollment server (of the CSP, e.g., in the CSP network 104), and / or an authentication server (of the CSP, e.g., in the CSP network 104), as described in the various embodiments below.

[0047] Embodiments of procedures related to consent capture and management within the system 100 are described below.1 Consent Capture and Management

[0048] Via the CSP application plugin 108 or the CSP application 106 together with the consent management function 118 of the CSP, the CSP captures consent based on the ASP's registered application use cases. During this registration, it is preferably configured that the CSP informs the application backend when consent capture is needed at Application Programming Interface (API) invocation time and does not bring up an alternative consent capture instead. Note, that not all use cases will require consent as a legal basis, and the decision of the needed legal basis is for the CSP as data controller to decide.

[0049] The CSP's consent capture mechanism, within the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, will interact with the consent management function 116 of the CSP and retrieve the end user's consent choices and available options and render a consent capture page to display the information and collect further user input.

[0050] Consent data for a registered application (e.g., the ASP application 110) includes any one or more of the following:- Data scope (the data the application wants to process, i.e., the scope of the personal data for which sharing is desired by the application or ASP)- Purpose (the purpose for processing the data within the application)- Legal basis (the legal basis that will be used to allow access, set by the CSP)- Consent constraints (e.g., processing must be within a specified country)- Consent validity (e.g., how long consent is valid for, once captured)

[0051] The sequence diagrams of Figures 2A-2C, 3A-3C, and 4A-4D illustrate the end-to-end flow where the ASP application 110 interacts with the CSP network 104 either directly or via an aggregator to redirect the user to the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, responsible for consent capture.1.1 Direct Interaction between Application and CSP

[0052] In this case, the ASP operating the ASP application 110 wants to use personal data related to the end user that the CSP controls and exposes via one or more APIs of the CSP network 104. The ASP registers with the CSP to create an agreement to use these APIs. The ASP's application (i.e., the ASP application 110) on the end user device 102 includes invocation logic of the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 for consent capture. The ASP has agreed upon a mechanism with the CSP for masking the user's globally unique identifier, e.g. a (Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI)) like the phone number or email address, for example by encrypting it using a CSP- specific public key. The ASP has agreed with the CSP that, in case the need for consent capture is detected at API invocation time, the application (backend) should be informed to allow bringing up the CSP's application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 for consent capture.

[0053] Against this backdrop, Figures 2A - 2C illustrate a sequence diagram for a consent capture procedure in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The steps of the procedure of Figures 2A - 2C are as follows:- Steps 200 and 202: The end user starts the ASP application 110 on the end user device 102 and logs in and is verified by an ASP application backend.- Steps 204, 206, and 208: The end user has configured their global identifier, e.g. phone number (Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number, MSISDN) as their identifier with the ASP. The global identifier is used by the ASP application backend to determine the CSP associated with the end user and the invocation Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) of the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 (e.g., for different operating systems).- Steps 210 and 212: The ASP application backend generates an identityToken (masking the global identifier of the end user) by encrypting the end user's global identifier with the public key of the CSP.- Steps 214 and 216: The ASP application backend selects the invocation URL depending on the operating system of the end user device 102 and instructs the ASP application 110 on the end user device 102 to invoke the invocation URL, launching the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, which is either already deployed on the end user device 102 or loaded or installed from the relevant app store. The CSP application plugin 108 and / or CSP application 106 has already been provided to the app store by the CSP. Note that in step 216 the ASP application sends the selected consent URL, identityToken, application identifier (appID), and optionally the scope and / or purpose, to the ASP application 110.- Step 218: When the ASP application 110 invokes the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, it passes the ASP application's identifier as well as the identityToken and the optional scope and purpose. Note that if the optional scope and purpose are included in step 216, this information is also included in step 218. An app URL may also be provided, where the app URL is the "return address", where control must be given back once the consent capture is complete.- Step 220: The CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 now interacts with the consent management function 116 of the CSP to retrieve the ASP application specific consent use cases (e.g., data scope, purpose, legal basis, supported consent constraints, consent validity) as well as any consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110. Note that this interaction happens by invoking one or many APIs exposed by consent management. The API invocation is preferably secured e.g. by applying suitable Open Authorization (Oauth) protocols.- Step 222: To retrieve the existing consent selections of the end user, the consent management function 116 first decrypts the identityToken (optionally interacting with other CSP services) and extracts the end user's global identifier.- Steps 224, 226, 228, and 230: The end user's global identifier together with the ASP application identifier is then used by the consent management function 116of the CSP to retrieve the ASP application's consent data (e.g., data scope, purpose, legal basis, supported consent constraints, consent validity configuration) and any existing consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110. The ASP application's identifier is also used to retrieve the ASP application's pre-registered use cases for consent collection.- Steps 232, 234, 236, and 238: Combined consent data (e.g., the ASP application's consent data (the consent related pre-registered use cases) and any existing consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110) is then returned to the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 and used to fill a consent collection screen, displaying the combined consent data to the end user and allowing end user input (e.g., provide consent or deny consent, change a pre-existing content approval or denial, or the like).- Steps 240, 242, and 244: Any new end user input is persisted by the consent management function 116 of the CSP.- Step 246: Once the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 is closed by the end user, control can be returned to the ASP application 110.1.2 Interaction via aggregator

[0054] In this case, the ASP operating the ASP application 110 wants to use personal data related to the end user that the CSP controls and exposes via APIs of the CSP network 104. The ASP registers with an aggregator, and the aggregator in turn registers with the CSP to create an agreement to use these APIs. The ASP application 110 on the end user device 102 includes invocation logic of the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 for consent capture. The aggregator has agreed upon a mechanism with the CSP for masking the end user's globally unique identifier, e.g. a GPSI like the phone number or email address, for example by encrypting it using a CSP-specific public key.

[0055] Against this backdrop, Figures 3A - 3C illustrate a sequence diagram for a consent capture procedure in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The steps of the procedure of Figures 3A - 3C are as follows:- Steps 300 and 302: The end user starts the ASP application 110 on the end user device 102 and logs in and is verified by an ASP application backend.- Steps 304 and 306: The end user has configured their global identifier, e.g. phone number (MSISDN) as their identifier within the ASP. The global identifier is sent by the ASP application backend to the aggregator in a request to obtain a consent URL for invoking the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106.- Step 307 and 308: The aggregator uses the end user's global identifier to determine which CSP application plugin or CSP application invocation URL(s) to return to the ASP application backend.- Steps 310 and 312: The aggregator generates an identityToken (masking the global identifier of the user) by encrypting the end user's global identifier with the public key of the CSP.- Step 314: The aggregator returns the identityToken and the invocation URL(s) to the ASP application backend.- Steps 316 and 318: In this example, two or more invocation URLs are returned by the aggregator in step 314 (e.g., different invocation URLs for different operating systems). The ASP application backend selects the invocation URL to return to the ASP application 110 depending on the operating system of the end user device 102 and instructs the ASP application 110 on the end user device 102 to invoke the invocation URL, launching the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, which is either already deployed on the end user device 102 or loaded or installed from the relevant app store. Note that the CSP application plugin 108 and CSP application 106 have already been provided to the app store by the CSP.- Step 320: When the ASP application 110 invokes the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106, it passes an application identifier (appID) of the ASP application 110 as well as the identityToken and the optional scope and purpose.- Step 322: The CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 now interacts with the consent management function 116 of the CSP to retrieve the ASP's application specific consent use cases (e.g., data scope, purpose, legal basis, supported consent constraints, consent validity) as well as any consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110. Note that this interaction happens by invoking one or many APIs exposed by consent management, the API invocation must be secured e.g. by applying suitable Oauth protocols.- Step 324: To retrieve the existing consent selections of the end user, the consent management function 116 of the CSP first decrypts the identityToken (optionally interacting with other CSP services) and extracts the end user's global identifier.- Steps 326, 328, 330, and 332: The end user's global identifier together with the ASP application identifier is then used by the consent management function 116 of the CSP to retrieve the ASP application's pre-registered consent related use cases consent data (e.g., data scope, purpose, legal basis, supported consent constraints, consent validity configuration) and any existing consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110. The ASP application's identifier is also used to retrieve the ASP application's pre-registered use cases for consent collection.- Steps 334, 336, 338, and 340: Combined consent data (e.g., the ASP application's consent data and any existing consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110) is then returned to the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 and used to fill a consent collection screen, displaying the combined consent data to the end user and allowing end user input (e.g., provide consent or deny consent, change a pre-existing content approval or denial, or the like).- Steps 342, 344, and 346: Any new end user input is persisted by the consent management function 116 of the CSP.- Step 348: Once the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 is closed by the end user, control can be returned to the ASP application 110.1.3 Consent Capture Identity Validation

[0056] In addition to the previously described flows, the identity of the end user can be determined and verified by the CSP (e.g., by the CSP network 104) as part of the consent capturing solution using a secure carrier token generated by the operating system utilizing the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) of the device, and the CSP's Secure Entitlement Server (SES), and made available to the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106. The scenario is also valid if the application backend interacts directly with the CSP in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] Note that the use of an identityToken is not required, as the CSP could display and allow changes to the end user's consent choices based on the carrier tokenalone. Providing the ASP with feedback of whether the identityToken matches the subscriber associated with the carrier token may be undesirable as the CSP might want to charge for this information via a separate Number Verification style API.

[0058] In this regard, Figures 4A to 4D illustrates a procedure in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that the process of Figures 4A to 4D is only an example and the use case works also if there is no aggregator. If there is no aggregator, steps 200-220 from Figure 2A are applicable.

[0059] As illustrated, the procedure of Figures 4A to 4D includes the following:- Steps 400-420: Same as described above with respect to steps 300 to 320 of the procedure of Figures 3A to 3C.- Step 422: The CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 retrieves the carrier token from an entitlement server of the CSP. The carrier token includes information that uniquely identifies the resource owner and the end user device 102.- Step 424: The CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 now interacts with the consent management function 116 of the CSP to retrieve the application specific pre-registered consent use cases data as well as the consent data already available for this ASP application 110. It passes identityToken (encrypted, received from Aggregator or ASP) and the carrierToken to the consent management function 116. Note that this interaction happens by invoking one or many APIs exposed by consent management, the API invocation must be secured e.g. by applying suitable Oauth protocols.- As a first step, consent management function 116 validates the resource owner. o Steps 426 and 428: The consent management function 116 of the CSP interacts with the Entitlement Server of the CSP to introspect the carrier token and extract the global identifier of the end user and optionally the end user device data. o Steps 430, 432, and 434: The consent management function 116 of the CSP decrypts the identityToken by interacting with an Authorization server of the CSP, extracts the global identifier of the end user sent as input, and compares this against the end user device data obtained out of the carrier token. Also, the appld (i.e., the application ID of the ASP application 110) received in step 424 is compared against the appld in the identity token.o Steps 436 and 438: In case of error (not matching identifiers), an error is returned to the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 and forwarded to the ASP application 110.- Steps 440, 442, 444, 446, and 448: The end user's global identifier together with the ASP application identifier is then used by the consent management function 116 to retrieve the ASP application's consent data (the consent related pre-registered use cases described by e.g., data scope, purpose, legal basis, supported consent constraints, consent validity configuration) and any existing consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110. The ASP application's identifier is also used to retrieve the application's pre-registered use cases for consent collection.- Steps 450, 452, and 454: Combined consent data (e.g., the ASP application's consent data and any existing consent selections already made by the end user for this ASP and / or ASP application 110) is then returned to the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 and used to fill a consent collection screen, displaying the combined consent data and allowing end user input.- Steps 456, 458, and 460: Any new end user input is persisted by the consent management function 116 of the CSP.- Step 462: Once the CSP application plugin 108 or CSP application 106 is closed by the end user, control can be returned to the ASP application 110.2 Example System

[0060] Figure 5 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system 500 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Here, the CSP is a cellular service provider that operates the cellular communications system, and the end user is a subscriber of the cellular service provider. The end user device is a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) via which the end user accesses the cellular communications system operated by the cellular service provider. The consent management function 116 and the application registration function 114 (and any other functionality of the CSP or CSP network 104 described above) may be implemented in the cellular network (e.g., in the core network 510).

[0061] The cellular communications system 500 is, for example, a 5G system (5GS) including a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G Core (5GC) or an Evolved PacketSystem (EPS) including an Evolved Universal Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The cellular communications system 500 may alternatively be a 6G system. In this example, the RAN includes base stations 502-1 and 502-2, which in the 5GS include NR base stations (gNBs) and optionally next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (e.g., LTE RAN nodes connected to the 5GC) and in the EPS include eNBs, controlling corresponding (macro) cells 504-1 and 504-2. The base stations 502-1 and 502-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 502 and individually as base station 502. Likewise, the (macro) cells 504-1 and 504-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 504 and individually as (macro) cell 504. The RAN may also include a number of low power nodes 506-1 through 506-4 controlling corresponding small cells 508-1 through 508-4. The low power nodes 506-1 through 506-4 can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or RRHs, or the like. Notably, while not illustrated, one or more of the small cells 508-1 through 508-4 may alternatively be provided by the base stations 502. The low power nodes 506-1 through 506-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low power nodes 506 and individually as low power node 506. Likewise, the small cells 508-1 through 508-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 508 and individually as small cell 508. The cellular communications system 500 also includes a core network 510, which in the 5G System (5GS) is referred to as the 5GC. The base stations 502 (and optionally the low power nodes 506) are connected to the core network 510.

[0062] The base stations 502 and the low power nodes 506 provide service to wireless communication devices 512-1 through 512-5 in the corresponding cells 504 and 508. The wireless communication devices 512-1 through 512-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 512 and individually as wireless communication device 512. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 512 are oftentimes UEs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0063] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a network node 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The functionality of the CSP network 104 (e.g., the application registration function 114 and the consent management function 116) may be implemented in the network node 600 or distributed across two or more network nodes or implemented in a cloud computing architecture. The network node 600 may be, for example, a core network node. As illustrated, the network node 600 includes one ormore processors 604 (e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and / or the like), memory 606, and a network interface 608. The one or more processors 604 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The one or more processors 604 operate to provide one or more functions of the network node 600 as described herein (e.g., one or more functions of the CSP network 104 described herein). In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, e.g., in the memory 606 and executed by the one or more processors 604.

[0064] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the network node 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes. As used herein, a "virtualized" network node is an implementation of the network node 600 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the network node 600 is implemented as a virtual component(s) (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the network node 600 includes one or more processing nodes 700 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 702. Each processing node 700 includes one or more processors 704 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or the like), memory 706, and a network interface 708.

[0065] In this example, functions 710 of the network node 600 described herein (e.g., one or more functions of the CSP network 104 described herein) are implemented at the one or more processing nodes 700 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 710 of the network node 600 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 700.

[0066] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the network node 600 or a node (e.g., a processing node 700) implementing one or more of the functions 710 of the network node 600 in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radiosignal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0067] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 512 (e.g., a UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 512 is one example of the end user device 102. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 512 includes one or more processors 802 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or the like), memory 804, and one or more transceivers 806 each including one or more transmitters 808 and one or more receivers 810 coupled to one or more antennas 812. The transceiver(s) 806 includes radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna(s) 812 that is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s) 812 and the processor(s) 802, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. The processors 802 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers 806 are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 512 (or UE or end user device 102) described above may be fully or partially implemented in software that is, e.g., stored in the memory 804 and executed by the processor(s) 802. Note that the wireless communication device 512 may include additional components not illustrated in Figure 8 such as, e.g., one or more user interface components (e.g., an input / output interface including a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker(s), and / or the like and / or any other components for allowing input of information into the wireless communication device 512 and / or allowing output of information from the wireless communication device 512), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

[0068] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the wireless communication device 512 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0069] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of thesefunctional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0070] While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

[0071] Some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows:

[0072] Embodiment 1: A method for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of a Communication Service Provider, CSP, with an Application Service Provider, ASP, application, the method comprising:• at an ASP application executing on an end user device: o receiving (Fig. 2, step 9; Fig. 3, step 10), from an ASP application backend, a Uniform Resource Locator, URL, for invoking a CSP application plugin or CSP application; o invoking (Fig. 2, step 10; Fig. 3, step 11) the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL to obtain consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device;• at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin or CSP application for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device:o sending (Fig. 2, step 11; Fig. 3, step 12), to a consent management function of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application;• at the consent management function of the CSP: o receiving (Fig. 2, step 11; Fig. 3, step 12) the request from the CSP application plugin or CSP application; o obtaining (Fig. 2, steps 13 and 14; Fig. 3, steps 14 and 15) ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application; o obtaining (Fig. 2, steps 15 and 16; Fig. 3, steps 16 and 17) existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any; o sending (Fig. 2, steps 17 and 18; Fig. 3, steps 18 and 19) a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application, the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any;• at the CSP application plugin or CSP application: o receiving (Fig. 2, step 18; Fig. 3, step 19) the response from the consent management function of the CSP; o optionally displaying (Fig. 2, step 19; Fig. 3, step 20), at the end user device, one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and o optionally receiving (Fig. 2, step 20; Fig. 3, step 21) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0073] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the ASP application specific consent data comprises any one or more of the following:- data scope;- purpose;- legal basis that is to be used to allow access;- one or more supported consent constraints;- consent validity configuration.

[0074] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein prior to receiving (Fig. 2, step 9), the URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application at the ASP application:• at the ASP application backend: o obtaining one or more URLs for obtaining consent via the CSP application plugin or CSP application (e.g., from the CSP or from an aggregator); o selecting (e.g., based on an operating system type of the end user device) the URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to be used by the ASP application at the end user device; o sending the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to be used by the ASP application at the end user device to the ASP application at the end user device.

[0075] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 3, wherein sending the selecting URL for invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to be used by the ASP application at the end user device to the ASP application at the end user device comprises sending the selected URL invoking the CSP application plugin or CSP application to be used by the ASP application at the end user device together with an encrypted identity token for the end user.

[0076] Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 4, wherein, at the ASP application, invoking (Fig. 2, step 10) the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL comprises invoking (Fig. 2, step 10) the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL and the encrypted identity token.

[0077] Embodiment 6: The method of embodiment 5, wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the consent management function of the CSP comprises the encrypted identity token.

[0078] Embodiment 7: The method of embodiment 6, further comprising, at the consent management function of the CSP, extracting an identifier of the end user from the encrypted identity token, wherein obtaining (Fig. 2, steps 15 and 16) the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any, comprises obtaining (Fig. 2, steps 15 and 16) the existing consent data using the extracted identifier of the end user.

[0079] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 5 or 6, further comprising, at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, in response to the invoking of the CSPapplication plugin or CSP application for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device: obtaining (Fig. 4, step 12) a carrier token; wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin or CSP application to the consent management function of the CSP comprises the carrier token and optionally the identity token.

[0080] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 8, further comprising, at the consent management function of the CSP, validating the end user as owner of the personal data based on the carrier token and the encrypted identity token.

[0081] Embodiment 10: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 9, further comprising, at the CSP application plugin or CSP application, receiving (Fig. 2, step 20; Fig. 3, step 21) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application and sending (Fig. 2, step 21; Fig. 3, step 22), to the consent management function of the CSP, a request to store consent data for the end user that reflects the provided or denied consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0082] Embodiment 11: A method performed by an Application Service Provider, ASP, application for obtaining consent for sharing of personal data of an end user of a Communication Service Provider, CSP, with the ASP application, the method comprising: receiving (Fig. 2, step 9; Fig. 3, step 10), from an ASP application backend, a Uniform Resource Locator, URL, for invoking a CSP application plugin or CSP application; invoking (Fig. 2, step 10; Fig. 3, step 11) the CSP application plugin or CSP application using the received URL to obtain consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device.

[0083] Embodiment 12: A method performed by Communication Service Provider, CSP, application plugin or CSP application for obtaining consent for sharing of personal data of an end user of a CSP with an Application Service Provider, ASP, application, the method comprising:• responsive to being invoked by an ASP application to obtain consent from an end user for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of the end user: o sending (Fig. 2, step 11; Fig. 3, step 12), to a consent management function of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application;o receiving (Fig. 2, step 18; Fig. 3, step 19) a response from the consent management function of the CSP, the response comprising combined consent data comprising ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any; o optionally displaying (Fig. 2, step 19; Fig. 3, step 20), at the end user device, one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and o optionally receiving (Fig. 2, step 20; Fig. 3, step 21) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application.

[0084] Embodiment 13: A method performed by a consent management function of a Communication Service Provider, CSP, for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of the CSP with Application Service Provider, ASP, applications, the method comprising: receiving (Fig. 2, step 11; Fig. 3, step 12) a request from a CSP application plugin or CSP application at an end user device, the request being a request for current consent data for sharing, by the CSP with an ASP application, of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device; obtaining (Fig. 2, steps 13 and 14; Fig. 3, steps 14 and 15) ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application; obtaining (Fig. 2, steps 15 and 16; Fig. 3, steps 16 and 17) existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any; sending (Fig. 2, steps 17 and 18; Fig. 3, steps 18 and 19) a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application, the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any.

Claims

Claims1. A method for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of a Communication Service Provider, CSP, with an Application Service Provider, ASP, application, the method comprising:• at an ASP application (110) executing on an end user device (102): o receiving (216; 318), from an ASP application backend, a Uniform Resource Locator, URL, for invoking a CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106); and o invoking (218; 320) the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) using the received URL to obtain consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application (110), of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device (102);• at the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106), in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of the end user associated to the end user device (102): o sending (220; 322), to a consent management function (116) of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application (110);• at the consent management function (116) of the CSP: o receiving (220; 322) the request from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106); o obtaining (224-226; 326-328) ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application (110); o obtaining (228-230; 330-332) existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; and o sending (232-234; 334-336) a response to the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106), the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application (110) and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; and• at the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106):o receiving (234; 336) the response from the consent management function (116) of the CSP; o displaying (236; 338), at the end user device (102), one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and o receiving (238; 340) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application (110).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ASP application specific consent data comprises any one or more of the following:- information that indicates a scope of the personal data that the ASP application wants to process;- information that indicates a purpose for processing of the personal data with the ASP application (110);- legal basis that is to be used to allow access to the personal data;- one or more supported consent constraints;- consent validity configuration.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising, prior to the ASP application (110) receiving (216) the URL for invoking the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106):• at the ASP application backend: o obtaining (208) one or more URLs for obtaining consent via the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106); o selecting (214) the URL for invoking the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to be used by the ASP application (110) at the end user device (102); and o sending (216) the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the ASP application (110) at the end user device (102).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein sending (216) the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the ASP application (110) at theend user device (102) comprises sending the selected URL for invoking the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the ASP application (110) at the end user device (102) together with an encrypted identity token for the end user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, at the ASP application (110), invoking (218) the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) using the received URL comprises invoking (218) the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) using the received URL and the encrypted identity token.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the consent management function (116) of the CSP comprises the encrypted identity token.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising, at the consent management function (116) of the CSP, extracting an identifier of the end user from the encrypted identity token, wherein obtaining (228-230) the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any, comprises obtaining (228-230) the existing consent data using the extracted identifier of the end user.

8. The method of claim 5 or 6, further comprising, at the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106), in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application (110), of personal data of the end user associated to the end user device: obtaining (422) a carrier token; wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the consent management function of the CSP comprises the carrier token and optionally the identity token.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, at the consent management function (116) of the CSP, validating (426-434) the end user as owner of the personal data based on the carrier token and the encrypted identity token.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising, at the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106), sending (240; 342), to the consent management function (116) of the CSP, a request to store consent data for the end user that reflects the provided or denied consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application (110).

11. A method performed by Communication Service Provider, CSP, application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) at an end user device (102) for obtaining consent for sharing of personal data of an end user of a CSP with an Application Service Provider, ASP, application (110), the method comprising:• responsive to being invoked by an ASP application (110) to obtain consent from an end user of the end user device (102) for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application (110), of personal data of the end user: o sending (220; 322), to a consent management function (116) of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application (110); o receiving (234; 336) a response from the consent management function (116) of the CSP, the response comprising combined consent data comprising ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application (110) and existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; o displaying (236; 338), at the end user device (102), one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and o receiving (238; 340) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application (110).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the ASP application specific consent data comprises any one or more of the following:- information that indicates a scope of the personal data that the ASP application wants to process;- information that indicates a purpose for processing of the personal data with the ASP application (110);legal basis that is to be used to allow access to the personal data; one or more supported consent constraints; consent validity configuration.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the consent management function (116) of the CSP comprises an encrypted identity token for the end user received from the ASP application (110) when the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) is invoked.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: obtaining (422) a carrier token; wherein the request sent from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) to the consent management function of the CSP comprises the carrier token and the encrypted identity token.

15. The method of any of claims 11 to 14, further comprising sending (240; 342), to the consent management function (116) of the CSP, a request to store consent data for the end user that reflects the provided or denied consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application (110).

16. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the processor to carry out the method according to any of claims 11 to 15.

17. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 16, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by processing circuitry of an end user device (102), whereby the end user device (102) is operable to:• responsive to a Communication Service Provider, CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) being invoked by an Application Service Provider, ASP, application (110) at the end user device (102) to obtain consent from an end user of the end user device (102) for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application (110), of personal data of the end user: o send (220; 322), to a consent management function (116) of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application (110); o receive (234; 336) a response from the consent management function (116) of the CSP, the response comprising combined consent data comprising ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application (110) and existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; o display (236; 338), at the end user device (102), one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and o receive (238; 340) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application (110).

19. An end user device (102) comprising: one or more transmitters (808); one or more receivers (810); memory (804) storing first software instructions corresponding to an Application Service Provider, ASP, application (110) and second software instructions corresponding to a Communication Service Provider, CSP, application plugin (108) or CSP application (106); and processing circuitry (802) associated with the one or more transmitters (808) and the one or more receivers (810), the processing circuitry (802) configured to execute the first and second software instructions whereby:• the ASP application (110): o receives (216; 318), from an ASP application backend, a Uniform Resource Locator, URL, for invoking the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) for obtaining consent for sharing, by the CSP with theASP application (110), of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device (102); o invokes (218; 320) the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) using the received URL to obtain consent for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application (110), of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device (102); and• the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106), in response to the invoking of the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) for sharing, by the CSP with the ASP application, of personal data of the end user associated to the end user device (102): o sends (220; 322), to a consent management function (116) of the CSP, a request to obtain current consent data for the end user and the ASP application (110); and o receive (234; 336) a response from the consent management function (116) of the CSP, the response comprising combined consent data comprising ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application (110) and existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; o display (236; 338), at the end user device (102), one or more consent options based on the combined consent data; and o receive (238; 340) user input from the end user either providing or denying consent to share the personal data of the end user with the ASP application (110).

20. A method performed by a consent management function (116) of a Communication Service Provider, CSP, for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of the CSP with Application Service Provider, ASP, applications (110), the method comprising: receiving (220; 322) a request from a CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) at an end user device (102), the request being a request for current consent data for sharing, by the CSP with an ASP application (110), of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device (102);obtaining (224-226; 326-328) ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application; obtaining (228-230; 330-332) existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; and sending (232-234; 334-336) a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application, the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the ASP application specific consent data comprises any one or more of the following:- information that indicates a scope of the personal data that the ASP application wants to process;- information that indicates a purpose for processing of the personal data with the ASP application (110);- legal basis that is to be used to allow access to the personal data;- one or more supported consent constraints;- consent validity configuration.

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the request received from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) comprises an encrypted identity token of the end user.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising extracting an identifier of the end user from the encrypted identity token, wherein obtaining (228-230) the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any, comprises obtaining (228-230) the existing consent data using the extracted identifier of the end user.

24. The method of any of claims 20 to 23, wherein the request received from the CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) comprises a carrier token.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising validating (step 426-434) the end user as owner of the personal data based on the carrier token and optionally the encrypted identity token.

26. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the processor to carry out the method according to any of claims 20 to 25.

27. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 26, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by processing circuitry of a network node for implementing a consent management function (116) of a Communication Service Provider, CSP, for consent management for sharing of personal data of an end user of the CSP with Application Service Provider, ASP, applications (110), whereby the network node is operable to: receive (220; 322) a request from a CSP application plugin (108) or CSP application (106) at an end user device (102), the request being a request for current consent data for sharing, by the CSP with an ASP application (110), of personal data of an end user associated to the end user device (102); obtain (224-226; 326-328) ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application; obtain (228-230; 330-332) existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application (110), if any; send (232-234; 334-336) a response to the CSP application plugin or CSP application, the response comprising combined consent data comprising the ASP application specific consent data for the ASP application and the existing consent data of the end user for the ASP and / or the ASP application, if any.

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