The Importance of Trust in the Blockchain

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I get your point about the energy wasting of blockchain, but doesn't solve a trust issue. If it's true that anyone can set up a server and put content on it, but then do you trust that person to not add restrictions or try to prevent you from using it the way you want? I think you're confusing where the restrictions would be problematic. Like, we want users to be able to restrict who can see their content. And if there are lots of places you can move it from and to, if it's not all monopolized with four different cloud hosts or whatever, then that part's fine.

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What is interoperability? What counts as "unauthorized" access to computers or parts of computers? If the rendered design of a web page is copyrighted, then does blocking ads on that page count as copyright infringement by creating a derivative product? Does Facebook really want what's best for its users? Is Google evil? Could blockchain-based solutions provide much-needed privacy or interoperability? Why doesn't the U.S. government (for example) fight harder to prevent vendor lock-in when buying goods and services? Which tech companies, if any, should be broken up?

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently Radicalized and Walkaway, science fiction for adults; Chokepoint Capitalism, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; In Real Life, a graphic novel; and the picture book Poesy the Monster Slayer. His latest novel is Attack Surface, a standalone adult sequel to Little Brother. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

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