Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, raised the issue of privacy in the modern digital world, emphasizing its critical importance.
Privacy as a Necessity
Buterin noted that amidst the growing data appetite from governments and large tech companies, privacy has become not just a right but a pressing necessity.
Old Assumptions No Longer Hold
According to Buterin, assumptions that 'governments are benevolent' or 'technology always develops for the benefit of humanity' are becoming overly optimistic. He believes these ideas no longer protect individual rights and exacerbate power imbalance in the digital world.
Technological Alternatives for Privacy Assurance
Buterin suggested employing technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs, which allow users to verify their identity without sharing personal data. Examples include Ethereum’s new privacy pools, which protect transaction histories without direct connections.
Buterin believes that privacy must become one of the foundational pillars of the new internet, and Web3 developers should adopt this understanding.
