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PR #182 split - terms and definitions (part 1 of 3)
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jpengar committed Oct 10, 2024
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Expand Up @@ -42,22 +42,25 @@ The document covers aspects regarding CAMARA APIs access and the user consent ma

The list below introduces several key concepts:

- `Application`: client system that requires access to protected resources. Application must use the appropriate access token to access those resources (e.g. CAMARA Network APIs).
- `End User`: the human participant who uses the application from a consumption device.
- `User`: the client/subscriber of the telco operator, identified by a unique user identifier (e.g. subject identifier sub in OpenID Connect terminology). The user is the resource owner. Usually the user corresponds to the end user, but this is not always the case. For example, a parent may be the user of a mobile subscription for their children.
- `Auth Server`: authorization server which receives requests from applications to issue an access token upon successful authentication and consent of the user. The OpenID Connect provider is able to authenticate the user validating user identity against the corresponding identity provider. The authorization server exposes two endpoints: the authorization endpoint and the token endpoint.
- `Identity Provider (IdP)`: It corresponds to the OpenID identity provider which is the party that provides user authentication as a service (it creates, maintains, and manages user identity information).
- `Resource Server`: A server that protects the user resources and receives access requests to user resources from applications. It accepts and validates an access token from the application and returns the appropriate resources to it.
- `Scope`: OpenID Connect scope name which maps one or more resources. Some scopes may refer to personal information that could be affected by data protection regulations that require identifying the purpose for which they are requested.
- `Data processing`: storing, transforming, or accessing personal information is considered processing data. Third party clients will be data processors, while the telco operator will be the data controller.
- `Purpose`: The reason for which processing that personal information is required by the application. For example, an application might want to handle personal information to create a movie recommendation for a user. This is equivalent to the term purpose mentioned in GDPR law; for example, [Art. 5 of the law](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-5-gdpr/) states the following: “Personal data shall be [] collected for specified, explicit and legitimate **purposes**”. Additionally, personal data is translated into personal information resources, as explained below.
- `Consent`: an explicit opt-in action that the user takes to allow processing of their personal information. It grants a **legal** entity (e.g., the operator or a specific third party) access to a set of **scopes** of a given **user**, under a specific **purpose**.
- `Legal Entities`: are the legal subjects that are willing to get access to personal information with a specific, predefined purpose.
- `Operator`: Mobile Network Operator (MNO), or CSP/telco operator, exposing network capabilities via standard CAMARA APIs.
- `Aggregator`: aggregate Operator’s CAMARA standardised APIs for building services offered to application developers. An aggregator can be a hyperscaler (e.g. Vonage, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) offering its own services or directly exposing CAMARA APIs available at the operators, or it can be a telco operator acting as an aggregator, i.e.: aggregating other telco operators and exposing CAMARA APIs available at these telco operators.
- `API Exposure Platform`: Operator's platform for exposing network capabilities via standard CAMARA APIs. It is the platform that exposes the CAMARA APIs to application developers and provides the authentication and authorization mechanisms to access them. It is also responsible for consent management. It typically consists of at least an Auth Server and an API Gateway.
- `3-legged access token`: Access tokens are created by the authorization server to be used by the client at the resource server. If the authorization server authenticates the user and potentially asks for their consent for the API access, then the acccess token is called a 3-legged access token, because of the three involved parties: user (the resource owner), authorization server (operator, i.e. service provider), and the client (third-party application). Typically 3-legged access tokens are created in CAMARA through OIDC Authorization Code flow or CIBA.
- `2-legged access token`: Unlike the 3-legged access token, which involves user interaction, the 2-legged access token involves only the client and the authorization server, not the user. It is a server-to-server communication, and the authorization server neither authenticates the user nor is the user asked for their consent.
- `Aggregator`: the party that aggregates CAMARA APIs exposed by Operators, and exposes services that utilize these APIs to ASPs. An Aggregator can be a hyperscaler (e.g. Vonage, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) offering its own services that consume CAMARA APIs, or exposing Operators' CAMARA APIs in an aggregated way, or an Operator acting as an Aggregator, i.e. an Operator aggregating other Operators' CAMARA APIs.
- `API Exposure Platform`: the Operator's platform for exposing CAMARA APIs to ASPs and Aggregators, providing authentication and authorization mechanisms, and End-User Consent management. The API Exposure Platform typically consists of at least an Auth Server and an API Gateway.
- `Application` or `Application Backend`: the ASP's software services that access CAMARA APIs.
- `Application Service Provider (ASP)`: the Legal Entity that provides the Application and/or services that consume CAMARA APIs.
- `Authorization (Auth) Server`: the authorization server processes requests from an Application to issue an access token upon successful authentication and authorization. The Auth Server provides OpenID Connect (OIDC) compliant endpoints, and is able to authenticate the User by validating the provided user identity with an Identity Provider; the Auth Server exposes the OIDC authorization endpoints and the OIDC token endpoint.
- `Consent`: an explicit opt-in action that the User takes to allow processing of personal data. Consent grants a Legal Entity (e.g. the Operator or ASP) access to a set of Scopes related to the Resource Owner, for a specific Purpose.
- `Consumption Device`: the physical device on which an Application is installed or running.
- `End-User`: the human participant using an Application on a Consumption Device, only applicable to some CAMARA APIs.
- `Identity Provider (IdP)`: the OpenID Identity Provider, the party that provides authentication as a service (the IdP creates, maintains, and manages identity information).
- `Legal Entity`: the legal subject that processes Personal Data for a specific Purpose.
- `Operator`: Mobile Network Operator (MNO), Communication Service Provider (CSP), or telco operator exposing network capabilities.
- `Personal Data` or `Personally Identifiable Information (PII)`: Data which may identify or relates to an individual as defined within the relevant regulatory framework; for example, this may include an individual's name or address.
- `Purpose`: The reason for which Personal Data will be processed by an Application. For example, an Application might want to create a movie recommendation for an End-User using their Personal Data, such as age or gender. CAMARA defines a standard set of Purposes which can be used by Applications to specify the reason for their intended Personal Data processing.
- `Resource Owner` or `User`: the End-User or Subscriber which Personal Data processed by a CAMARA API relates to, the Resource Owner has the authority to authorize access to CAMARA APIs which process Personal Data.
- `Resource Server`: the server that exposes protected resources to Applications. The Resource Server requires a valid access token to be provided before allowing access to the protected resource.
- `Scope`: the OpenID Connect scope which maps one or more protected resources, some scopes may require processing of Personal Data.
- `Subscriber`: the mobile subscriber of the Operator. The Subscriber is usually also the End-User, but this is not always the case. For example, a parent may be the Subscriber of a mobile subscription for their child, the End-User.
- `Three-Legged Access Token`: an access token that involves three parties: the Resource Owner (User), the Authorization Server (operated by the Operator or Aggregator), and the client (the ASP's Application). In CAMARA, Three-Legged Access Tokens are typically created using the OIDC Authorization Code flow or Client-Initiated Backchannel Authentication (CIBA) flow.
- `Two-Legged Access Token`: an access token that involves two parties, the Authorization Server (operated by the Operator or Aggregator), and the client (the ASP's Application); the Two-Legged Access Token does not include a Resource Owner (User). The Authorization Server does not autenticate a User, nor can User Consent be captured or validated for Two-Legged Access Tokens; therefore Two-Legged Access Tokens must only be used for CAMARA APIs that do not process Personal Data.

## Purposes

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