General Principles

The cheqd Governance Framework embodies the following General Governance principles. These General Principles SHOULD be used as checks and balances against new Proposals on the Network.

Updates, amendments or revisions to this Principles list can be made through the process explained in the Section Major Network Changes.

1. Interoperability

cheqd SHOULD enable digital identity data for an entity to be represented, exchanged, secured, protected, and verified in an interoperable way, across multiple decentralised identity Networks, using open, public, and royalty-free Standards, such as the Standards for Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

2. Accessibility

cheqd SHOULD enable applications to build on top of the Network, maximising usability and accessibility, in order to create additional value and utility for other members of the industry.

cheqd can be defined as a Layer 1 component of the Trust over IP stack, and SHOULD act as a module for other Layers in the stack to plug-into, from a technical and governance perspective.

3. Transparency

cheqd Network and Community SHOULD enable Network Users to easily access and verify information necessary to understand the incentives, rules, policies, and algorithms under which Node Operators and other participants of the Network operate.

cheqd SHOULD therefore, open source its work to the entire community.

4. Integrity

cheqd Network and Treasury SHOULD uphold the highest levels of integrity in the running of the Network, ensuring decisions and proposals are made in a public domain, without coercion, in the collective best interests of the cheqd Community.

5. Control

Network Users SHOULD control their own identifiers and encryption keys, and be able to employ end-to-end encryption for all interactions.

Network Participants SHOULD always have a right to vote on the cheqd Network and have full control of their choice of vote.

6. Security

cheqd Network code and updates SHALL provide appropriate, measurable security of the data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage, using significant technical and organizational measures.

cheqd Network SHOULD make publicly available their network health monitoring, data and analytics tooling.

7. Data Protection

cheqd Network Users SHALL NOT enable personal data, as defined in the GDPR, to be written to the Network, in either a plain text proposal, memo, DID Document or a software update.

cheqd Network SHALL ensure any data uploaded to the Network is anonymous and uncorrelateable.

A User’s right to be forgotten (i.e. the right for their personally identifiable information to be erased or put beyond use) SHALL be promptly honored wherever applicable.

8. Notification

Network Users SHOULD notify the other Users of the Network as soon as practically possible if there is a security breach, data breach or else if a Regulator has made an inquiry into the Network’s operations.

9. Decentralization

cheqd SHALL NOT require reliance on a centralized system to represent, control, or manage the Network’s governance. Instead, the decisions on the Network should be made by a diverse collective, in line with the Principle of Increasing Entropy, ensuring there is no single point of failure.

10. Sustainability

cheqd SHOULD always strive to be environmentally sustainable, given the imminent threat of climate change and the important role that technology can play in mitigating this threat.

For example, this MAY be achieved through a Carbon Tax on the Network. A Carbon Tax is a nominally small fee that is charged for the use of the Network, which can be put aside into a Community Pool, and donated for the betterment of the environment.

11. Inclusion

cheqd Users SHALL NOT exclude or discriminate against any other User within its governance scope, on the basis of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, incapacity, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, country of origin, heritage, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

cheqd Users SHOULD always seek to use inclusive and neutral language to best reflect the interests of a diverse, multidisciplinary and multicultural Network.

12. Privacy

The cheqd Network SHALL NOT allow any use of the Network that results in technical or regulatory privacy infraction, such as surveillance, personal tracking, and abuse.

cheqd Network SHOULD use the tools available to it, such as the veto power to ensure that the network is not used as a Layer 1 for Layer 2 and 3 applications that compromises Privacy.