BLOCKCHAIN: OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT?
Blockchain: A threat to democracy and citizenship?
In essence, citizen ownership and democracy are not synonymous with blockchain. In fact, without democratic debate or vote, certain public or private players could use this technology to impose new sets of technological standards that would dictate what people can and cannot do. The Internet originally offered the same promise of freedom from trusted third parties.
However, the web is now used by very large players and its development
calls into question the original idea of net neutrality. As a result, the widespread use of blockchain technology could lead to the
formation of new industry titans focused on creating proof of user identity,
transactions, title deeds, and so on. One possible scenario for the growth of
blockchain technology is the creation of private monopolies that control its
progress while benefiting only a privileged few at the expense of the general
public.
In contrast to a technology-based citizen approach, blockchain's attributes (transparency, immutability, and automation) could also lead to the establishment of a technocratic and potentially totalitarian regime, where technical rules take precedence over legal ones, which could call into question certain fundamental principles such as the separation of powers and the hierarchy of norms, giving all power to developers. It is important not to underestimate the coercive capacity of blockchain. The potential for extensive recording, monitoring, and automated control is indeed present.
Blockchain technology has the potential to
enable infinite deregulation, pushing liberalism to the limit and opening the
door to all kinds of abuses, if citizens and government agencies aren't on
their guard.
It is therefore essential to hold a democratic
and open debate to consider the nature of blockchain and its applications as a
whole.
Privacy and blockchain :
The new European Data Protection Regulation (RGPD) places a strong emphasis on the right to be forgotten, which allows users to request the deletion of their personal data in certain circumstances.
For now, however, blockchain technology does not allow transactions
to be deleted. Since the network's inception, all transactions carried out on
it have left a permanent, verifiable record due to the immutability of
blockchain data, which means they cannot be altered or deleted once recorded.
This seriously jeopardizes the secrecy and security of data, particularly where
sensitive or personal information is involved, especially as the blockchain
cannot guarantee complete anonymity.
As the history of each transaction is freely
accessible to any actor with access to the blockchain, which also raises
concerns about data protection, the transparent and irreversible nature of
transactions on the blockchain would imply a situation of continuous and
widespread surveillance.
Inclusion and blockchain :
The growth of blockchain technology creates inclusivity issues for developers and the general population. In
reality, it's important to consider both the variety of programmers and
developers influencing blockchain as well as the ability of the general public
to use it.
The people designing this technology need to reflect a broad community, with a wide range of needs and expectations if it is to live up to its promise in terms of governance and potential for the social economy.
Technology is not neutral; it is influenced by our decisions,
our political, economic, and cultural worldviews, as well as by our worldviews
as individuals. Blockchain needs an inclusive structure to realize its full
potential in the social economy. Developers therefore need to come from a
variety of backgrounds.
The development of blockchain will need to integrate philosophical and sociological methods alongside legal and economic ones, underlining the importance of multidisciplinarity in this field.
It's important to stress that blockchain technology is still largely misunderstood on the public side. For the unfamiliar, accessing blockchain-based services is currently extremely difficult, time-consuming, and unintuitive. Because only programmers know blockchain coding, they have access to a tool that is currently inaccessible to the general public, and whose widespread use presents dangers for democracy.
The
exclusion of those who are digitally "incompetent" raises major
concerns. In this respect, blockchain risks widening the existing digital
divide. In terms of increased control over their own data and transactions,
those without access to the Internet may not be able to benefit fully and
immediately from the advantages offered by blockchain's advances.
We therefore need to create an infrastructure
that is adapted to our contemporary environment and can be understood by
everyone, which is not currently the case.
Blockchain technology must be developed with
users, not for them. The design of any blockchain initiative must place the
role of citizens at the center.
Blockchain and the environment :
Finally, as each computer on the network hosts a copy of the entire ledger since its creation and updates it in real-time, blockchain uses an enormous amount of energy. The mining process required to verify transactions also uses a significant amount of electricity. There are several estimates available, as calculating the energy consumption and carbon impact of Bitcoin mining is not a precise science.
A study published in Nature
Climate Change estimates that 69 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) were
released in 2017 as a result of Bitcoin use. The electricity consumption of the
Bitcoin blockchain would be similar to that of Ireland95 and could account for
0.29% of the world's electricity supply. Some consider this to be an
"environmental disaster".
The energy intensity of blockchain, and more
generally of all digital processes, could become a growing sustainability issue
with the proliferation of its economic and social uses if it is able to create
more energy-efficient algorithms and hardware.
Regulation is needed, and the European Union has a role to play :
This new technology needs to be monitored,
controlled, and scaled up appropriately. The European Union is crucial in this
situation. Blockchain technology is a tool with many advantages, but it also
creates the same problems as digitization, so it needs to be managed
intelligently and sensibly.
The social, legal, and financial concerns that
blockchain technology will pose must be addressed by states and the European
Union.
As blockchain technology develops and transforms rapidly, it is necessary for Europe to act now, in order to be a full player in the evolution of this technology and to be able to give it a social and democratic direction, in the service of the well-being. being of European citizens.
The USA and China are already heavily involved in the
development of blockchain technology, and the risk for Europe is of falling
behind and/or seeing blockchain technology take a purely commercial turn, at
the service of big business and to the detriment of citizens.
Europe therefore needs to develop its own
approach to blockchain technology, focused on its use by the social economy and
in the service of greater democracy. It could become a leader and show the way
for blockchain technology at the service of citizens.
To achieve this, the controlled, democratic, moral, and secure growth of blockchain technology must be ensured, and EU participants must work together to identify a common plan. A global plan is needed as a result of multi-sector cooperation, including between the Commission's many departments. Although still in its infancy, the European Union is already considering the challenges of blockchain and its regulation through the Commission and Parliament.
A report on the ethical, social, and legal ramifications of blockchain was published in February 2017 by the Parliament's research division. To assess current initiatives in blockchain technology with a social impact while taking into account regulatory and normative implications, the Commission organized a workshop in 2016 on "Blockchain for Social Good". The aim of the workshop was to define a roadmap describing how the European Commission could contribute to these developments, particularly in the context of the Horizon 2020 program. In February 2018, the European Commission created its blockchain observatory forum and entrusted it to the ConsenSys company.
At the same time, it also launched a
competition called Blockchains for Social Good101 to encourage the creation of
useful applications serving the public interest. The Commission's current
strategy is to encourage over-regulation of innovation at all costs.
Discussions call for more focus on how the Union will manage blockchain
technology rather than how rigorously it will be regulated. However, when
technology disrupts established institutions, it is important to monitor it and
assess how it may affect current power structures.