URDCF Consent Tracking for Telecom Data Revocation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing mobile telecommunication systems face challenges in managing and tracking user consent for user-specific data, particularly in the context of network data analytics, where user consent revocation and data deletion across network entities are not efficiently handled, leading to potential violations of privacy laws.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a User/UE Related Data Controlling Function (URDCF) as a proxy on data request and response paths to monitor and manage user consent, ensuring entities comply with consent updates and revocations by tracking data consumers and sources, and facilitating timely deletion of user data and analytics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If user consent is managed across multiple network entities without a centralized tracking mechanism, then data processing can proceed in parallel across entities, but consent revocation information cannot be timely propagated to all entities

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata processing efficiencyVSAvoidconsent status information
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a centralized User Consent Tracker (UCT) as an intermediary entity that receives consent revocation notifications and propagates them to all relevant network entities. This mediator architecture allows parallel data processing to continue while ensuring consistent consent status information is distributed to all entities that need it, resolving the contradiction between processing efficiency and information propagation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If user consent information is stored and processed at multiple network entities, then data processing capability is distributed and robust, but ensuring consistent consent status across all entities becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata processing reliabilityVSAvoidconsent management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the centralized User Consent Tracker receives notifications about consent revocations and automatically propagates updated consent status information back to all relevant network entities. This feedback loop ensures all entities maintain consistent, up-to-date consent information without requiring complex peer-to-peer synchronization protocols, thus maintaining reliability while reducing management complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Loss of information

If user data is retained for extended periods for analytics purposes, then data analytics value is maximized, but compliance with user consent revocation becomes difficult to ensure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata analytics valueVSAvoidconsent compliance reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent establishes a preliminary action framework where the system proactively monitors for consent revocation notifications and automatically initiates data deletion processes across all entities before compliance violations can occur. The centralized tracker pre-identifies all entities holding user data and ensures they receive revocation notifications and execute deletion, maintaining both analytics value during the consent period and reliable compliance upon revocation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12619767B2Enhanced method of control or management of user related data subject to user consent
Publication Date: 2026.05.05 NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • US12619767B2 patent drawing
  • US12619767B2 patent drawing
  • US12619767B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for supporting user consent management, tracking of user specific data and UE specific data requiring user consent, and distributing information about revocation of the user consent to involved network entities, are provided.