Blockchain is the only viable path to privacy and censorship resistance in the 21st century
While censorship resistance and privacy are not the same thing, they are closely intertwined. When the government or another entity, such as an advertiser, can track everything you do, they can also sanction you for bad behavior.
Instead of working backwards to cover seismic cracks in Web2 with duct tape, it may be time to go full speed ahead to ensure the same mistakes don’t happen in Web3. By being proactive, the purported Internet of the future can actually protect our private information and prevent overzealous or oppressive censorship before these problems become unmanageable.
Uses crypto to deliver the message
In countries fighting for human rights and civil liberties, suppression of freedom of expression and external communication complicates the struggle against repressive regimes. This is where the encryption and transparency of blockchain technology can prove useful in protecting sensitive information. Web3-based email extensions (such as ShelterZoom’s Document GPS) and file-sharing services (such as the InterPlanetary File System) have the potential to help activists and citizens in human rights areas circumvent censorship and warrantless surveillance.
By placing documents on a ledger, the sender can control all aspects of visibility and permissions while having access to a time-stamped log of every action performed on the file. Think of it as DocuSign or Google Docs on steroids.
Related: Nodes are going to dethrone tech giants – from Apple to Google
In a regime of strict surveillance and censorship practices, it is easy to see how these blockchain-based tools are invaluable. But these kinds of solutions also use blockchain to address crypto’s censorship blind spots. It is a common misconception that crypto is inherently private when in fact the opposite is true, as transactions are stored on an open and transparent distributed ledger. This is why they are traceable in an even more efficient way than traditional financial transactions.
This lesson was learned the hard way by the truck convoy blockade in Canada, which received Bitcoin (BTC) donations that were easily tracked and sanctioned. In the words of Michael Gronager, CEO of blockchain computing firm Chainalysis, “Crypto is far more transparent than traditional finance. […] We follow the funds.”
So, how did crypto get a reputation for being censorship resistant? Part of the answer lies in decentralized ledger control, which makes it extremely difficult to take over and immutable once a transaction is recorded in the ledger.
One network working to offer complete anonymity is Tomi, a developer of Web3-based decentralized solutions and hardware for assisted computing. Led by eight anonymous senior crypto veterans working with 72 developers, Tomi is building TomiNet to empower the free flow of information between journalists, activists and generally law-abiding people without interference from governments or businesses. While TomiNet has similar anonymity features to the dark web, the network is governed by Tomi’s community through a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to prevent unpleasant or harmful activities.
The idea behind DAO governance is simple: keep governments and corporations out, but still offer a mechanism to quell violence.
The need for decentralization is more than theoretical
Another notable example of gatekeeping in Big Tech can be seen in the controversial right-wing social network Parler being fired by cloud-based web hosting services such as Amazon Web Services. Cloud technology is hailed as a truly useful technology in internet infrastructure. But the problem is that there are a handful of cloud companies that provide virtually all the essential infrastructure, allowing them to act as gatekeepers.
Whether or not you agree with Parler’s policy being banned, the event illustrates how a company is effectively blocked from operating on the internet because a cloud service won’t serve them.
Related: Facebook and Twitter will soon be obsolete thanks to blockchain technology
Decentralized web hosting can step in as a much-needed solution. Companies like Akash and Flux offer a wide range of cloud services essential to the internet age, but by leveraging decentralization, they remove the cloud service’s ability to exercise control over users.
The examples of governments and private entities with too much power stifling speech and communication are growing every day. Web3 must step up, but in a more forceful and demonstrative way than before. Censorship and privacy live in a symbiotic relationship, and neither matters without the other. The crypto world must remember this if it is to fulfill the space’s high order of promises.
Maintaining privacy in this day and age is almost impossible. From data theft incidents to government tracking citizens, every person is at risk of unwanted exposure. TikTok recently updated its European Economic Area privacy policy to confirm that personnel, including China-based employees, can access user data. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime continues to crack down on protesters, leaving citizens afraid to speak out against the leadership.
Ariel Shapira is a father, entrepreneur, speaker and cyclist and serves as the founder and CEO of Social-Wisdom, a consulting agency that works with Israeli startups and helps them establish connections with international markets.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph. The author was not compensated by any of the projects or companies cited in this column.
