Why can't we ignore "privacy rights"? Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin deeply analyzes the future war of digital privacy.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin today (4/14) published another post advocating for privacy rights support. Vitalik pointed out that in the early days of crypto assets, projects like Chaumian Ecash regarded "financial privacy" as a core value. However, with the limitations of decentralization technology (especially before the emergence of zk-SNARKs), the entire industry gradually downplayed its focus on privacy, shifting towards other technological guarantees.

However, as AI technology and data collection methods rapidly evolve, this kind of neglect has clearly come to an end. Vitalik believes that "those who have information have power," and we must avoid the centralization of information control. Now, we also have powerful tools to achieve digital privacy, such as zk-SNARKs, fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), and programmatic encryption techniques.

Why do we need privacy? Three major reasons for freedom, order, and progress.

Vitalik divides his support for privacy into three core arguments:

Privacy is freedom: it allows people to live their lives freely without constantly worrying about external judgments and surveillance.

Privacy is order: The foundation of many democratic systems, corporate governance, and social operations relies on privacy.

Privacy is progress: Sharing information moderately and securely can unleash digital potential and accelerate technological and social innovation.

Privacy is a space that allows people to be free.

Vitalik reflects on the concept of a "transparent society" that was popular in the 2000s, where people believed that information transparency was a good thing that could hold governments accountable and promote fairness. However, these optimistic ideas can no longer adapt to modern reality:

Most governments around the world are difficult to be seen as trustworthy.

Cultural tolerance has regressed, and social media bullying and public opinion pressure have become the norm.

AI data analysis tools may exacerbate pricing discrimination and individual exploitation.

He cited the incident where he became famous after being secretly photographed in Chiang Mai as an example, explaining that the demand for privacy is not abnormal, but a common phenomenon. Everyone has the potential to become an "outlier" in the future, becoming a party in need of privacy protection.

In summary:

"Privacy allows us to live freely, without constantly negotiating between 'what we want' and 'how others will perceive it.'"

Why can't we open backdoors for the government?

Some people will argue: If the government has a good regulatory mechanism, can it safely control all information?

Vitalik gave clear opposing reasons:

Abuse of power: History shows that even in democratic societies, it is impossible to completely prevent internal abuse of power (such as Twitter employees selling data to foreign governments).

Data breach risk: The data breaches of US telecommunications companies in 2024 and the hacking of personal data in Ukraine in 2025 show that even legal collection is difficult to prevent against hacker intrusions.

Regime change risk: today’s trusted institutions may become tools of oppression tomorrow.

He emphasized that, from a historical perspective, unmonitored private conversations have been the norm for humanity for thousands of years, not the other way around.

Privacy is the invisible mechanism of social order.

The cornerstone of democratic politics: secret voting, is indeed a privacy protection mechanism. If everyone could prove who they voted for, then bribery, threats, and social pressure would completely overwhelm rational choices.

This logic applies not only to elections but also to roles such as judges, government officials, and corporate decision-makers. When they face public and transparent oversight, they are more likely to be influenced by external forces rather than making rational judgments.

Vitalik cited game theory, stating that forced transparency can easily lead to interest groups forming alliances to manipulate the situation, thereby disrupting the overall order.

Without privacy, there can be no discussion of technological advancement.

The lack of privacy can become an obstacle to innovation and research. Take healthcare as an example:

Highly personalized treatment requires a large amount of personal and environmental data.

However, due to privacy risks, this data is often unable to be collected or shared.

The result is that innovation is hindered and progress becomes conservative.

Vitalik pointed out that if we can effectively utilize cryptographic technologies such as ZK proofs, FHE, and MPC, we can "share without exposing" data, further creating personal AI assistants, digital avatars, and even conducting risk-free medical data analysis.

In the age of AI, privacy becomes even more important.

AI is not just our tool, but also our observer. From ChatGPT leaking user questions to AI monitoring systems analyzing personal information, we are entering a world that is extremely transparent yet unverifiable.

What is even more concerning is that technologies such as BCI (Brain-Computer Interface) may allow AI to directly "read minds" in the future. Without privacy protection mechanisms, our thoughts will ultimately face "legal surveillance."

Vitalik proposed three major solutions:

Local computation priority: As long as the analysis and responses can be executed locally, there is no need to upload to the cloud.

Encrypted Remote Computing: Using technologies like FHE to perform data computation without decryption.

Hardware Open Verification: Hardware devices must be publicly verifiable to prevent the hardware itself from becoming a backdoor.

The Golden Middle Way of Privacy

Vitalik is not an extreme privacy advocate. He acknowledges that in certain circumstances, limiting privacy can promote social justice and transparency, such as prohibiting companies from signing non-compete clauses, allowing industry knowledge to flow.

But overall, he believes that the most severe risk in the future is: a small number of people and state machinery holding too much information, while the majority of people have no privacy at all.

Therefore, he calls on the community and technology developers:

Treating privacy as infrastructure and building open-source, trustworthy, and accessible protection tools is one of the most important challenges of our time.

Why can't we ignore "privacy rights"? Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin deeply analyzes the future war of digital privacy. First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.