User-Controlled Social Network Database With Blockchain Data Chains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing social networks and online marketplaces store and control user data without user consent, allowing limited user control over their data, which is used for algorithmic profiling and commercial purposes, and data deletion is ineffective.
Innovation Solution
A relational database system with data blocks managed by users, using data chains to control data sharing and a blockchain for secure, unmodifiable storage of certain data, ensuring user ownership and control over their data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If user data is stored and controlled by the social network operator, then the operator can perform algorithmic profiling and commercial purposes, but the user loses control over their data and cannot effectively delete it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data control by introducing data owners who independently manage their personal data blocks. Each user owns their data blocks and can decide who accesses them, separating data storage from data control. The operator stores data but does not control it, resolving the contradiction between operational versatility and user reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces data blocks as intermediary containers that hold user data. These blocks are managed by the users themselves rather than the operator. The blocks serve as intermediaries between the operator's storage systems and the user's control mechanisms, allowing the operator to store data while users maintain ownership and control.
2Productivity
If data is stored on operator servers, then data can be accessed and processed, but user control over data management is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling users to directly manage their own data blocks. Users can add, modify, delete, and share their data blocks without operator intervention. This self-service mechanism maintains high productivity for data processing while dramatically improving ease of operation for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic control where data access rights and management permissions can be changed in real-time by users. Data blocks can be dynamically shared with different users or groups, and access can be revoked at any time. This dynamic system maintains processing efficiency while giving users full operational control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If data can be modified and shared freely, then user flexibility is improved, but data integrity and security are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into discrete, user-owned blocks that can be independently managed. Each block maintains integrity through user control while allowing flexible sharing. The segmentation prevents unauthorized modifications while preserving user flexibility in how they organize and share their data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts data control from the operator and returns it to users through data blocks. Users take control of their data and can decide who accesses it, preventing unauthorized modifications. This extraction maintains data integrity while allowing users to flexibly manage their own data according to their preferences.
4Reliability
If data deletion is allowed, then user control is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses data blocks as copyable units that users can independently manage. When users delete data, they simply remove the blocks from their personal storage, which is a simple operation. The system maintains complexity only where necessary for block management, while keeping user operations simple and direct.
Data Source
AI summary
A relational database system for a social network through which a number of users can share data with each other, wherein the data associated with a user is stored as data blocks, the data blocks associated with a user can be managed exclusively by the user, the sharing of data of the data blocks between users in the network is defined by predetermined data chains, wherein each predetermined data chain specifies data from the data associated with a user that the user shares and specifies the user with whom the data is shared, wherein each relation is stored as a data block and can be managed exclusively by the user to whom the data is associated, wherein the predetermined data chains comprise programs that perform functions based on the shared data.