Blockchain is often mentioned in conjunction with cryptocurrencies, elucidating ideas of “crypto” Or volatile markets. The current administration was quite vocal in its support of crypto but did not provide clearly Regulatory protection advice For consumers. While cryptocurrencies attract great attention, other sectors are looking for decentralized financial mechanisms, such as blockchain, for the public good. However, even with blockchain, there are data confidentiality problems that will require a certain level of regulatory surveillance and compliance as use cases become more widespread.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a large decentralized digital book which safely records transactions on a distributed computers network. Technology can be compared to the capacities of versions history on shared documents: all those who have access can display, comment and modify, and these modifications are all saved. This makes technology generally resistant the surest and the most transparent Decentralized digital structure.
These capacities have a great appeal to government institutions for the holding of files that manage property securities, publish identity documents, follow the eligibility for public advantages, etc. Due to its decentralized record holding function, the blockchain provides “A single vision of truth“This eliminates potential disagreements due to various books, offering a”immutable, impregnated»Form of file holding.
These features can reduce the risk of falsification, fraud or administrative errors, which are common concerns in traditional government databases. Some too suggest This reputation for blockchain as a secure and transparent system can help restore confidence in government institutions in critical processes, such as elections or asset management. However, data confidentiality concerns are used in the use of all the data that can be attributed to or called by the implementation of Blockchain.
Blockchain in the governments of states and local
At least 19 States have established official study groups to search for potential use of technology. For example, the California blockchain working group was created in 2019 to assess “the uses, risks and advantages” of blockchain for the state. With the group final report, Published at the end of 2022, experts found major opportunities in the references and the holding of compatible blockchain registers and urged leadership at the level of the State to implement these technologies. The California motor vehicle department has since used the blockchain to scan 42 million car titles And detect fraud, report the opening to the adoption of state -scale technology. Sutter County, California, also Blockchain deployed to issue birth and death files for Improve efficiency, reduce costs in the department and improve customer experience.
Other cities and counties in the United States have also sponsored initiatives that use blockchain to rationalize specific government processes. From 2018, Virginie-Western Piloted a mobile application compared to the blockchain which sought to improve accessibility to vote for army members and their families deployed abroad. The application records the votes on a blockchain, which anonymous and instantly follows the votes, eliminating the hassles of the correspondence ballots which are faced with frequent mail delays.
Austin, Texas, began to explore a Blockchain program In 2018 to help the city’s homeless population in the safety of personal identification documents. The city hoped for proposed program Could allow it to replace the paper records with encrypted electronic records, create a decentralized authentication system which would allow mobile verification and create a personal recording database. However, city reports exhorted departments Move slowly on the deployment of technology; growth Confidentiality and concerns in equity On digital identification has led to a more in -depth examination.
More recently, the city of Baltimore Blockchain introduced Technology to better monitor the more than 15,000 vacant houses in its jurisdiction. Registering more than 200,000 real estate securities and evaluations, The platform The route allows and simplifies the purchase process of a vacant property.
Non -American uses
The United States is not the only government to turn to blockchain technology in the hope of building more responsible and transparent governance systems. In fact, Sierra Leone was the first country to Use the blockchain During the national elections in March 2018. The government hoped that the immutable quality of technology “would create legitimacy around the elections and reduced the benefits of the opposition parties”. Similar to the Baltimore program, the city of Dubai and the country of Georgia both launched systems supported by blockchain to record land titles and real estate transactions.
Estonia, on the other hand, has integrated blockchain into a range of government processes via the digital platform Eastoniawhich makes it “the most digital advanced society in the world”, according to Cable. Estonian citizens transport compatible blockchain mobile identificationReplacement of the driving license series, student identification cards and metro passes generally maintained in a wallet. Estonia uses Blockchain technology to “enforce the integrity of government data” and allow residents to obtain more practical and secure access to public services.
The need for confidentiality protections
Experiences at the start of the stadium in the American cities of Austin at the County of Sutter show how the blockchain can meet the long -standing challenges of public administration. However, these pilots remain located and on a small scale compared to the complete vision of Estonia of governance compared to blockchain. If governments could strengthen the technological capacity and public confidence to implement these systems more broadly, blockchain would allow portable digital identities, state -scale registers for land ownership, licenses and compliance monitoring and secure and accessible voting systems for citizens abroad.
Of course, this scaling requires updated legal frameworks, public-private collaboration and thoughtful attention to digital equity and data confidentiality. Without regulatory orientation, local pilots face legal ambiguity during the expansion between the courts. The immutability of blockchain, although precious for safety purposes, increases Data confidentiality concerns This can come into conflict with the laws on the confidentiality of state data requiring the right of deletion. In the absence of a national standard of data confidentiality, data assets linked to individuals and / or communities can facilitate greater identification by proxies, unnecessary collection of private and personal information, and potentially lead to an increase in cybersecurity violations, in particular by poor players seeking to exploit the increased use by the government of this technology. In addition, digital identification systems and license platforms risk of deepening inequalities If they are inaccessible to communities without internet or reliable devices. The growing number of invisible people digitally means that the accelerated migration of government services to online platforms excludes their ability to benefit from it.
While governments seek to modernize public infrastructure thanks to products such as blockchain, fair design and inclusive implementation will be the key to ensuring that technology serves public good.
