Criteria for trustworthy digital transactions - Blockchain/DLT between eI-DAS, GDPR, Data and Evidence Preservation

With the help of eIDAS [Re14], legislators have created a resilient framework in EU and EFTA to place trustworthy digital transactions more and more in the centre of business relationships. The regulated use of the trust services (e.g. qualified electronic signature or seal etc.) as well as that of the secure electronic identities provides a solid foundation for the advancement of digitization. The adequate evidence of electronic records as long as they are needed is a critical success-factor for trustworthy digital transactions. The trustworthiness of the transactions must be based on compliance with the basic values of authenticity, integrity, reliability, availability, confidentiality and transferability. After a first hype there are increasingly more considerations also in regulated industries to use DLT for digital processes which have to be accountable. In order to make them evident and to fulfil documentation requirements it is necessary that DLT fulfils the legal framework and prior art based on defined criteria for trustworthy digital transactions. This paper focuses on the challenges and requirements for utilisation of DLT for trustworthy digital processes including long-term preservation.