Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has recently highlighted the critical role of privacy in today’s digital world, contradicting any overly optimistic assumptions about transparency and genuine intentions in global politics.
In a blog post dated April 14, Buterin strongly stated that privacy is a fundamental need to uphold individual freedom and act as a shield against the escalating power of corporations and governments. He dismissed the widely-held belief that heightened transparency solely brings benefits, asserting that it depends on human nature assumptions that no longer hold true.
Buterin questioned the assumptions that global political leaders are “generally well-intentioned and rational,” and that society continues to evolve positively. He contended that these assumptions are becoming increasingly disputed. He pointed out that there isn’t a single major country where the first assumption is widely accepted. Additionally, he stated that cultural tolerance is declining at a fast pace.
On a personal level, Buterin admitted that his reduced privacy has been occasionally distressing. He cautioned, “Every action taken in the public domain has a minuscule chance of unexpectedly turning into a public media story”. He stressed that although it may seem privacy is only beneficial for those who step outside societal norms, it’s important to remember, “you never know when you will become one of them”.
He anticipates the demand for privacy will only intensify as technology continues to evolve, with innovations such as brain-computer interfaces potentially allowing automated systems to directly access our thoughts. He also expressed concern about automated price gouging, where companies charge individuals based on their perceived ability to pay.
Buterin also vehemently opposed the idea of government backdoors in systems designed for privacy protection. He highlighted that in cases like Know Your Customer data, not just governments, but also various corporate entities can access private data. This information is managed and stored by payment processors, banks, and other intermediaries.
Buterin suggested solutions based on zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs), which allow for precise control over who can access what information. These are cryptographic protocols that allow one party to prove a statement’s truth without revealing any additional information. He also suggested the use of privacy pools for regulatory-compliant Ether anonymization and on-device anti-fraud scanning to identify potential misinformation and scams.
This stance on privacy comes after Buterin’s recent release of a privacy roadmap for Ethereum, where he outlined the necessary short-term changes to the base protocol and ecosystem to enhance user privacy.
