The U.N is encouraging private tech companies to explore the use of blockchain technology for the purposes of (supposedly ) allowing the 1.5 billion people in the world who currently cannot prove their I.D a way to do so. Theoretically this will allow them access to services such as; banking, social media and other online services that may require the identification of the individual.
Big business is here to help...
Up steps Microsoft and technology consulting company Accenture PLC with a solution based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Details are sketchy at the moment, but it's being touted (by both the U.N and the companies involved) as a way for the end-user to control what data they release to third parties and when.
Filippo Grandi the head of the UNHCR said: "That is the line on which we are now working...that the subjects of the data should own the data." While David Treat the head of Accenture's involvement in the project claims: "We're putting it into the individual's hands."
How nice of them, I'm sure they only have our best interests in mind.
This all sounds great in theory. 1.5 billion people not having access to basic services is a huge problem that needs to be put right. But why cant blockchain-based solutions work without the involvement of the U.N or big business? Can these people not already open a bitcoin or Ethereum wallet and begin storing and accumulating wealth? Also note the companies and agencies involved, then it might not surprise you that the project is part-funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. If that doesn't concern you, you're not paying attention.
My worry is that this will turn into a tool of global online oppression. Imagine having to provide bio-metric data every time you post on social media, every time you make a crypto-transaction and every time you download a file. Governments have long talked about an online passport which will end anonymity online, is this it?