Review: Uncensored Crypto docuseries episode #6

In this episode of Uncensored Crypto, Michael Hearne sits down with crypto experts to discuss how cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and web3 can help protect against the increasing threat of censorship, lack of privacy, and lack of data ownership that users experience on traditional social networking platforms. 

The docuseries as a whole discusses how censorship is used to hide the benefits of cryptocurrency, DeFi, and decentralized systems from people looking for digital sovereignty and financial freedom. It also covers how crypto has the potential to completely change the traditional centralized systems as we currently know them.

This episode takes an in-depth look at the overarching themes of Uncensored Crypto: censorship, the power struggle between the crypto world and traditional institutions, and how the use cases for blockchain technologies are only likely to grow over time.

Recap of topics covered in episode 6 of Uncensored Crypto

Sovereignty

“I think if we want to take back our human sovereignty, we have to first take back our attention and we have to first take back our data and our usage on the internet. And I think the first way to do that is to really introduce the idea that Bitcoin allows for financial sovereignty, Lightning allows for database sovereignty within a social network. And I think what we’re doing at Zion is to hopefully give people back their sovereignty in a digital way and be able to assemble and be able to communicate without these overlords knowing every single message that they send to each other.” – Justin Rezvani 

This episode of Uncensored Crypto begins by addressing the idea of sovereignty, and how decentralization and web3 can help give online users more control over their digital lives. Rezvani makes the case that people have traded their sovereignty for convenience and that this has resulted in people having less control over their data, browsing history, and other aspects of their internet usage.

The idea that web3 could give people back their sovereignty isn’t new. What is web3? Web3 is meant to replace the internet as we currently know it. It will be an entirely decentralized version of the internet, where big tech companies no longer have complete control over people and their data. 

Web3 seeks to make decentralized platforms just as scalable as the current platforms that dominate the social media and tech landscape.

Many proponents of web3 support the idea because a decentralized future will help people take back their digital sovereignty and have more freedom to express their ideas without fear of censorship.

Data ownership

“You could argue that all the information that you produce online could be a digital asset. So your name and your location data, and what you ate for breakfast that morning. All of that information is really valuable to people. I mean, Facebook tries to get as much of it as they can, but they’re not giving it to you, it’s not your data. […] They own the data and they own essentially the profits once they make it useful. So data ownership is saying, ‘If I’m a producer of this asset in the world, I should have some ownership rights over it. I should have the ability to know what it’s being used for and where it’s going and have the ability to withdraw consent to this digital asset.’” – Matthew McKibbin

A key element to people taking back their digital sovereignty is controlling their data. The docuseries explores the trend of data ownership spreading through the tech and social media world. 

Data ownership springs from the idea that data is an asset that companies use to earn a profit. As the data’s owner, you should have a right to know how companies use your data. As an extension of that, the idea of data ownership argues that you should also be able to make money from the use of your data since it is technically your property. 

You should be able to control how your data is used, which pieces of data are used, and retract your data at any time. This would give you a greater degree of privacy and more control over your online experience, such as by seeing more relevant ads. Some politicians have argued that data ownership is a great way for everyone to make money. 

In this episode of the Uncensored Crypto docuseries, Matthew McKibbin says that data ownership could be “one of the greatest forms of universal basic income.” As data ownership gains more ground, companies will be motivated to jump on board to appear more transparent and gain their users’ trust.

Censorship

“Banks do realize the threat, and they’re playing both sides of the game right now. They’re getting ready to join the game with cryptocurrency, but at the same time, they still think there’s some hope in destroying it, or maybe slowing down the process. I’m not sure why they really feel the need to destroy it. Maybe they don’t think that they’ll be able to last in the world of crypto currency, but my message to them is that they will as long as they join the world of crypto currency. I think that they feel threatened because it’s something new. People are scared of things they don’t understand. But if banks and all of these social media companies and Google took the time to learn about cryptocurrency and took the time to appreciate the value it adds, they would probably join the game[…] instead of trying to slow it down.” – Josh Malinkovich

Crypto companies have often faced censorship or negative coverage at the hands of mainstream institutions and media. This is due to cryptocurrency’s potential to completely disrupt the financial system and take power away from large, centralized corporations. 

Blockchain technology could be used for various purposes aside from digital currency, which could help lay the foundation for an entirely decentralized web in the future. This threat to the current order means blockchain tech and crypto companies will likely have to keep struggling against censorship until they get enough mainstream support. 

The Uncensored Crypto docuseries also touches on how censorship and cancel culture have been larger issues in society, with major tech companies and social media platforms being able to ban people from their platforms. When this happens, it can threaten free speech and control who gets to have a voice. 

Decentralization, blockchain technology, and crypto all have the power to shift the power imbalance so that no one group is controlling the narrative.

Privacy and security

“Just like with security, there are levels of privacy that different people may require or try to achieve. And it’s important to understand, it’s easy to gain a lot of security using Bitcoin, it’s much harder to gain really good privacy using Bitcoin, because Bitcoin is an open transparent network. And if you’re not being careful about things like which machine, which computer you’re using to access Bitcoin, the network, which internet service provider you’re using, which networks you’re routing through, all sorts of different things can be used to identify a person who is using Bitcoin.” – Will Pangman 

Finally, this episode of the Uncensored Crypto docuseries covers online privacy and security. Will Pangman points out the tradeoff of using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which offers more security but not necessarily more privacy.

Blockchain technology offers a high level of security since it utilizes cryptography to manage transactions securely. 

Also, the decentralized nature of blockchain makes it hard for hackers to ever break into it. However, Pangman points out that while blockchains like the one used by Bitcoin are highly secure, they don’t offer complete privacy since transactions are all recorded on a public ledger, which is distributed across an open decentralized network. 

He discusses how those who wish for more privacy while using Bitcoin or other cryptos should find a cryptocurrency wallet that emphasizes better privacy protocols for its users.

What does the future look like for censorship and data ownership?

Future of web3

“Web3” has been a tech buzzword as more people become interested in a decentralized web. Many tech companies and venture capital firms have invested in developing the idea. For example, the web browser Opera has added many web3 features, including a recent integration with Polygon. This partnership will offer Opera’s users seamless access to Polygon’s collection of Ethereum dApps.  

But while other crypto and blockchain companies are making moves to realize web3, some express doubt about how big it will become, while others question if it is truly decentralized. This includes some high-profile celebrities, such as Twitter’s ex-CEO Jack Dorsey and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

For example, Dorsey tweeted that because venture capital firms are heavily investing in web3, it seems like the concept is still “a centralized entity with a different label” and that web3 has “corporate incentives, but hides it under decentralization.”

Meanwhile, Musk has called web3 more of a marketing term than an actual reality. This points to a valid concern. If big tech companies are already investing in web3, how much control can really be taken away from them?

But as mentioned in this episode of Uncensored Crypto, a decentralized web is the first step to giving people back their digital sovereignty and more control over their digital experience.

However, businesses may want to get ahead of the trend and embrace web3 in order to give their users a better experience. With blockchain technology, web3 will offer more privacy, data portability, and security, which will help many people feel more comfortable online.

For users, web3’s promise of the vision of an entirely decentralized web where people can control their data appeals to those who want more control and freedom. 

Online censorship has been a cultural topic for years now, with many people worried about being banned from platforms for expressing an idea that the company disagrees with. Web3 would help combat censorship. 

Future of data ownership

Data ownership has been a popular topic in recent years with documentaries like The Social Dilemma revealing how companies use our data to their advantage. This has ushered in a greater push for laws and regulations around data protection, tracking, and ownership. 

In the U.S., numerous states have their own laws to regulate the use of consumer data, including the California Consumer Privacy Act. In Europe, the EU has the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

Businesses are forced to comply with all these privacy laws if they want to operate in these locations. And the push for more privacy and data ownership rights is only increasing.

For example, a data ownership platform called the Cirus Foundation launched a web browser extension that allows users to monetize their data while browsing. Users receive payment for their data in the form of the CIRUS cryptocurrency, which can then be traded for other cryptocurrencies. 

As mentioned in this episode of the Uncensored Crypto docuseries, this type of consumer data system is likely to be explored by more companies in the future as they try to find a way to make everyone happy. If users have complete control over how their data is used–or whether it’s used at all–they may be more willing to exchange it as long as they are being compensated in some way.