Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AND LAWS.
Are they compatible?
A white paper championed by Baker McKenzie
incollaboration with R3
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
04
INTRODUCTION
05
DEFINING
BLOCKCHAINS
AND DISTRIBUTED
LEDGERS
07
GLOBAL DATA
PROTECTION LAW
13
BLOCKCHAINS DATA PROTECTION
VERSUS LAWS IN VARIOUS
DISTRIBUTED JURISDICTIONS
LEDGERS
16 18
CONCLUSION
20
4 BAKER MCKENZIE
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Any distributed ledger used by an enterprise or
industry needs to conform to data requirements
in the countries in which it operates. Existing
blockchains based on Bitcoin and Ethereum codebases
can indiscriminately broadcast private data to all
participants of a network, and therefore may not
always be suitable for use in financial services.
INTRODUCTION
Blockchains have given way forks or clones of Bitcoin and Ethereum
to other distributed ledger software. They pointed the software
inwards, creating private blockchain
technologies (DLT) networks inaccessible from the outside
Distributed ledger technology has evolved world, rather than pointing outwards to the
significantly since 2009 when the first public databases.
bitcoin was mined and the Bitcoin blockchain
Over time, these clones were adapted to try
was created. Today, two notable public
to meet institutional needs. However, it has
blockchains exist: Bitcoin and Ethereum.
become apparent that blockchains where
However, neither of these blockchains transaction data is broadcast indiscriminately
target the problems specific to the to all members of a network do not meet the
financial services industry. Bitcoin was needs of financial institutions.
designed to facilitate the exchange of
One of the issues with a broadcast
unstoppable, uncensorable digital cash, and
blockchain is the lack of privacy of the
Ethereum was designed as an unstoppable,
shared data. In Bitcoin and Ethereum, each
uncensorable world computer. Neither
computer on the network receives a record
of these goals are fully aligned with the
of every single transaction and update, and
requirements of the regulated financial
each computer validates these transactions
services industry.
according to a set of pre-programmed
During the blockchain hype in 2013-15, rules. The transactions contain details in
banks and other financial institutions ran clear, unencrypted text, including sending
experiments, many of which used private account, receiving account, amount, and
any other details that are necessary for a
computer to judge whether a transaction
is valid. Intuitively, in an industry network,
particularly financial services, it is not
necessary or acceptable for all transactions
The goals of public to be revealed to all participants in real time.
The financial services industry is as they go, without the need for multiple
ripe for DLT reconciliation handshakes after every
calculation, or becoming beholden to third-
The financial services industry consists of a party golden sources that own and control
network of parties who know each other, but the valuable data.
each control their own books and records.
They are not allowed to trust each other The next generation of
to maintain this, nor would they want to. distributed ledgers
Therefore, they individually record, process,
and store data, then verify with each other The next generation of distributed
that their versions of the numbers are correct. ledgers is not blockchains. They are being
designed and created to address the needs
Distributed ledgers can bridge the gap of regulated financial institutions. They
between these data silos to create a system are inspired by blockchains, but solve for
of shared facts that evolve as commerce the privacy and scalability needs of the
happens. These ledgers can be trusted to industry.
be accurate from the beginning, reconciling
DEFINING BLOCKCHAINS
AND DISTRIBUTED
LEDGERS
Both blockchain ledgers and non-blockchain need to be vetted by an administrator.
ledgers fall under the general category The financial services industry does not
of distributed ledgers, or shared or peer have this requirement. In fact, it has the
databases, where control of data is shared opposite requirement entities must be
only by relevant participants in the network. known, identified, and vetted.
Shared Perception
Ledgers
Broadcast Blockchain
ID Fact ID Fact
1 Bank A pays bank B $5. 1 Bank A pays bank B $5.
Bank B purchases bond X from issuing Bank B purchases bond X from
2 2
bank A. issuing bank A.
3 Bank C purchases bond X from bank B. 3 Bank C purchases bond X from bank B.
Bank C enters a credit default swap Bank C enters a credit default swap
4 4
with bank D. with bank D.
5 Bank D owes bank B $10. 5 Bank D owes bank B $10.
A B
C D
ID Fact ID Fact
1 Bank A pays bank B $5. 1 Bank A pays bank B $5.
Bank B purchases bond X from issuing Bank B purchases bond X from
2 2
bank A. issuing bank A.
3 Bank C purchases bond X from bank B. 3 Bank C purchases bond X from bank B.
Bank C enters a credit default swap Bank C enters a credit default swap
4 4
with bank D. with bank D.
5 Bank D owes bank B $10. 5 Bank D owes bank B $10.
BAKER MCKENZIE 9
Shared Ledger
ID Fact ID Fact
1 Bank A pays bank B $5. 1 Bank A pays bank B $5.
Bank B purchases bond X from issuing Bank B purchases bond X from
2 2
bank A. issuing bank A.
3 Bank C purchases bond X from bank B.
1
A 2 B
3 5
C D
4
ID Fact ID Fact
Lets take an example: Anne was issued USD 100 by Retail Bank and wants to transfer
USD80toBeth.
A simple view of the ledger follows:
Transaction
The transaction itself is a digitally signed it can be anonymized or obfuscated in the
message from Anne, assigning ownership of message details.
USD 80 of the USD 100 to Beth. The message
contains the ID (499602D2), the currency This transaction message is broadcast in clear
(USD), the amount (80), the new owner (Beth) text to those who need to know and approve
and Annes digital signature. Note that the that this has happened this is likely to be
issuer doesnt need to be explicitly named Annes bank, Beths bank, and perhaps Retail
Bank as the issuer of the cash.
24CB016EA
USD 80 Beth Retail Bank
(from 499602D2)
The relevant ledgers are updated to reflect the evolved owner of the USD 100.
Note that in the case of a broadcast blockchain, owner and face value. The bond issuer and
all participants who are running the blockchain currency issuer can be obfuscated.
database would need the transaction message,
whether they are party to the transaction
An interest rate swap
or not, whereas in the case of a private
distributed ledger, only relevant ledgers need An interest rate swap differs from a bond in
to be updated on a need-to-know basis. that future payment obligations are initially
unknown, and only crystallize on specified
A zero coupon bond dates. In the simplest example of a single
currency fixed-to-floating rate swap, parties
A bond builds on the cash model. For a zero make a commitment to pay each other based
coupon bond with limited lifecycle events, on prevailing rates on specified future dates.
key data elements are: bond issuer, owner,
face value, currency issuer, maturity date. Here, key data elements are: an ID for tracking
Of these, when a bond changes hands or the interest rate swap, the owner, interest
matures, the message would contain the new rate swap terms, payment schedule, and
12 BAKER MCKENZIE
Generalized obligations
Database Database
Digital financial assets can be reduced to A ID E
contracts between parties. A generalized
OWNER
obligation would have elements of cash,
bond, and new future obligations based IRS TERMS
GLOBAL DATA
PROTECTION LAW
When thinking about the application of Key data protection concerns
data protection laws to distributed ledger
technologies, the first point to understand Despite this complexity, there are some key
is that there is no such thing as global themes that are likely to arise in most if not
data protection law. Although overarching all jurisdictions when it comes to compliance
principles such as Article 12 of the Universal with privacy and data protection
Declaration of Human Rights and the OECD requirements in the context of blockchain
Privacy Principles developed in the 1980s and distributed ledger implementations.
provide a common source for many data
protection regimes, there is significant Is the data regulated by privacy
1
variation around the world. lawsatall?
Most data protection regimes focus on the where contractual arrangements between
relationship between collector and data participants can facilitate data protection
subject as a key point in the compliance compliance across the board. In a point-to-
cycle. Typically, such compliance involves the point DLT implementation where there is no
provision of various notifications to the data global data broadcast, this issue is an entirely
subject (in documents such as privacy policies, familiar one: the data being shared between
collection notices or other disclosures) and the nodes in such a context is effectively the
collection of certain consents from the data same data that is shared in traditional
subject. The key to compliance here is that confirmations between banks today.
the collector of the personal data clearly sets
out for the data subject how the collector How are cross-border transfers of
5
proposes to treat data subjects personal datato be treated?
data, including what personal data will be
collected, how it will be used, to whom it will In addition to the difficulties caused by the
be transferred and how it will be secured. multiplicity of privacy regimes that may
apply in a DLT context, many data protection
A clear challenge in DLT implementations regimes also regulate the circumstances
is how these compliance requirements can in which personal data collected from
be achieved by each participant, given data subjects can be transferred outside
that although each (or at least many) of the jurisdiction. Typically, data protection
them may end up holding personal data, regimes will seek to restrict the transfer
in many instances only one of them will of personal data to countries where the
have the opportunity to directly interface strength of data protection that will apply in
with the data subject. This is likely to be a that country is not adequate (ie, not up to
far more thorny issue in a public blockchain the standards imposed in-country).
implementation, where there is no necessary
relationship between each of the nodes, This has been the context for a very high-
as it is in a private implementation, profile battle between the EU and the
US on privacy matters. Essentially, the EU
views the underlying US privacy laws as not
meeting EU adequacy requirements, and has
expressed concerns relating to the transfer
of personal data from EU data subjects to
the US. Various attempts have been made
to deal with this issue to facilitate data
flows from the EU to the US (originally, the
safe harbor for qualifying US entities, and
now the new privacy shield).
BLOCKCHAINS
VERSUS DISTRIBUTED
LEDGERS
The table below sets out some key distinctions between public blockchains and private
distributed ledger implementations in terms of the likely application of data protection laws.
Responsibility Each node deals with the Each node receives only the
for compliance data it receives as a fully data that is relevant to it. Some
autonomous operator, jurisdictions, particularly in the
meaning that each EU, make a clear distinction
participant is likely to be between data "controllers" and
required to comply as an data "processors," and apply
independent controller of different compliance standards.
the personal data it receives. Many other jurisdictions,
however, do not make this
distinction.
BAKER MCKENZIE 17
DATA
PROTECTION
LAWS IN
VARIOUS
JURISDICTIONS
While there is a level of alignment However, because permissioned DLT systems
across data protection regimes in many involve known and trusted parties, historical
major centers, this is still an area of law entries can be amended provided the required
with important distinctions between number of parties agrees to an erasure. For
jurisdictions. example, a similar process has been carried
out by participants of the Ethereum network
Some key issues and differences include: to reinstate the funds lost in the infamous
DAO hack. Accordingly, DLT systems may
Europe and the UK: The right to be designed to allow personal data to be
deleted if a sufficient majority of parties to
be forgotten
the system (or an authority appointed by the
The right to be forgotten, now embedded in parties for the purpose) agree.
EU law under Article 17 of the new General
Data Protection Regulation, presents a Singapore: An evolving law
particular challenge for open blockchain
technologies. Article 17 confers a right of Rather than containing any specific areas of
erasure of personal data, subject to certain particular difficulty, a key feature of privacy
conditions and limitations. law in Singapore is its nascence. The Personal
Data Protection Act was only implemented
Where a data controller (eg, a node in in 2013, meaning that Singapore does not yet
a public blockchain) has made personal have as much history or precedent of data
data public, exercise of the right will also protection law as do some other jurisdictions
place an obligation upon a node to take such as those in Europe.
reasonable steps, including technical
measures, to inform other controllers of In the context of new and evolving
the erasure request. In complying with technologies such as blockchain and DLT
this obligation, controllers must take into implementations, this means that difficult
account the available technology and the questions, such as the treatment of
cost of implementation. anonymous and pseudonymous data, and
BAKER MCKENZIE 19
CONCLUSION
Regulated financial institutions who see the benefits
of DLT continue to drive towards commercialization
at pace. R3s Corda is tailored for use by financial
institutions and, as such, has many design aspects
that are different from public blockchains, one of
which is the limited data sharing that allows flexibility
in meeting multiple jurisdictional data privacy
requirements.
AUTHORS
Baker McKenzie R3
Harry Small
Partner, London Isabelle Corbett
harry.small@bakermckenzie.com Director of Regulatory Affairs & Senior Counsel
New York & Washington DC
isabelle.corbett@r3.com
Ken Chia
Partner, Singapore
ken.chia@bakermckenzie.com J. Ross Nicoll
Senior Developer
London
Michael Schmidl ross.nicoll@r3.com
Partner, Munich
michael.schmidl@bakermckenzie.com
Martin Sim
Research Associate
Brian Hengesbaugh Singapore
Partner, Chicago martin.sim@r3.com
brian.hengesbaugh@bakermckenzie.com
Baker McKenzie helps clients overcome
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About R3
R3 is an enterprise software company revolutionizing business
ecosystems with a new peer-to-peer platform, Corda. Corda is a
distributed ledger platform that is the outcome of over two years of
intense research and development by R3 and 80 of the worlds largest
financial institutions. Corda is applicable to any commercial scenario,
while meeting the highest standards of the banking industry.
www.r3.com
www.corda.net
www.bakermckenzie.com
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