Upcoming changes due to the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

I guess the reactions so far are a bit predictable - a couple of sensible comments among some others that don't seem to understand what is actually being discussed.

Have a careful read of what Oliver said:-

Oliver Bock wrote:

Today I'd like to talk about our statistics exports. While these are primarily meant for BOINC statistics services like BOINCstats, BOINC Combined Statistics or Free-DC, they might also be used by individuals and teams. Due to the GDPR we are in a situation where we effectively have to lock down anonymous access to those data.

He's talking about stats exports - the whole big blob of information about everybody.  The highlighting is mine.

I don't think he's talking about any individual and their own stats.  I'm no expert and I could be wrong, but as I understand it, your stats will always be available to you.  The restriction will be to anonymous 'others' having unfettered access to your information.  In other words, anyone wanting the whole blob will have to be identifiable and ultimately accountable for what they do with all the information.  With things like the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I would have thought that the locking down of anonymous access would be a step in the right direction.

Stats sites like BOINCstats will still be able to get the blobs - they just have to do so in an 'identifiable' manner.

Why do they have to be identifiable?  Here is just one pretty obvious reason.  Imagine a random participant wants to stop contributing and close/delete their account.  My understanding is that the organisation where the account was set up has a legally enforceable obligation to comply.  That's not the full issue.  If information about that account has been sent to other parties, those other parties are also under an obligation to remove the information as well.  So the primary organisation has to have full details about which other parties have the information.  It has a legal obligation to inform them and then they have an obligation to remove the information.

So what's the problem with a 'non-anonymous' system of stats export?  Just more red tape for the projects that have to implement a 'compliant' system, I suppose.  We should be offering sympathy rather than threatening withdrawal of support :-).