Control

If individuals are the natural custodians of the paperwork and important documents that underpin their lives, an important question follows.

How should others legitimately interact with information they do not possess?

The answer begins with permission. Permission transforms access from an

assumption into an explicit relationship. Who may access my information? What may they see? For what purpose? For how long? Under whose authority?

These questions give control practical meaning.

Meaningful control does not require information to be hidden or unavailable. Nor does it prevent organisations from accessing information they legitimately need. It establishes the terms upon which that access takes place.

Those terms should be clear. Purpose should be understood and access should be appropriate to need. Duration should be defined while activity should be accountable. When circumstances change, permissions should be capable of changing with them.

This creates value for both parties. Individuals gain visibility and greater control over how their information is accessed. Organisations gain confidence that access has been appropriately granted, that its purpose is understood and that their interaction with the information can be governed and demonstrated.

Permission therefore becomes the mechanism through which custody and legitimate access can coexist.

Control is not created by preventing interaction.

It is created by making interaction purposeful, visible and accountable.