Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin: "Privacy Is Freedom"

Vitalik Buterin emphasizes the critical need for enhanced privacy in the digital age, arguing that assumptions about governmental benevolence and societal progress are increasingly unfounded. He highlights the growing power of governments and corporations and their potential for misuse of personal data. Buterin cites his own experience, illustrating the lack of privacy even for prominent figures, emphasizing that anyone could become a target. He strongly opposes government backdoors in privacy systems, citing the risk of data abuse by various entities. Buterin points out the increased data access available to authorities, exceeding historical precedents, even with improved internet privacy. He proposes solutions using zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) to allow selective information sharing, while maintaining privacy. These solutions include ZK-proof-based personhood verification and privacy pools for cryptocurrency transactions. Additionally, he suggests on-device anti-fraud scanning to combat misinformation and scams. His proposals build upon a recent Ethereum privacy roadmap focusing on short-term protocol and ecosystem improvements. The goal is to balance privacy with regulatory compliance and prevent data misuse.