Personal linking is removed, deleted or depersonalised after known periods and has to be permissioned by the consumer on a regular basis. So maybe we are on this road already and this is a timely solution.
But getting companies to stop thinking of my data as their asset will be like removing a lifelong dependency to painkillers.
This is one of those solutions that will need a push, much like PCI Data Security Standard 2 and GDPR. Unless it could add real tangible benefits to the companies that hold the data, it would take legislation to drive this level of change throughout not just financial services but every industry that holds data.
Mr Berners-Lee will have to move from geek god to lobbyist in order to achieve the penetration this solution would require to be effective.
Michael James is head of technical architecture and principal consultant at Altus Consulting
