PowerKee’s Bastion of Privacy #22 — Political frameworks are failing to protect data and why cryptocurrency users should be concerned
A proposed data privacy bill for the state of Florida has collapsed without making it through parliament. The bill which was targeted at empowering users to have a say on how their data is collected and deployed was dismantled by lobbyists that comprised 343 businesses in the state. This is not the first time such a proposal has failed to be implemented in Florida. We recently detailed how a similar bill was rejected in 2020.
These businesses believe that passing such a bill would cost them a lot of money. The business owners argued that such a bill could lead to a significant increase in litigation cases, harming the state economy. The interests of the individuals who are the real owners of the data seem to be far down in terms of priorities.
In the latest Bastion of Privacy, we highlight the details surrounding the collapse of the bill. We also consider how political correctness may not work in favor of the majority, especially when powerful entities are involved.
The Goal of the Data Protection Policy
Florida was not the first state in the United States to attempt to implement such a data privacy bill. A couple of other states have succeeded in establishing law which empowers users to litigate against companies and organizations that collect and use their data without appropriate permission.
Netizens are generally aware of the lack of control they have over their own data. A recent survey highlighted that the majority of netizens felt they had little to no control over who can access their online data.
(Source: BusinessInsider.com)
Other states have enacted similar bills to the one which was proposed in Florida and have strengthened the data privacy protection framework for their residents. The California House Bill 969 is one such example. Passed on April 29th 2021, the bill will become effective by July 1st 2022 and mandate businesses to protect the personal information of customers. The policy is also expected to ensure that the exposure of personal information of internet users is minimized. This will reduce instances of such information getting into the wrong hands and hurting the data owners.
Fragmented Policies and Inconsistency of Purpose
The collapse of the proposed privacy bill in Florida has exposed the weakness in attempting to solve technological problems using political models. While states like California have succeeded in enacting privacy laws, the attempt in Florida has failed. We need to remember that technology is borderless.
The fragmented nature of the data privacy laws makes it difficult to protect the data of all netizens. Virginia has followed the steps of California and established a similar law. Several other states are expected to follow. However, the development in Florida could set the tone for more backlash from businesses regarding such data privacy proposals.
Why data privacy is pertinent for cryptocurrency users
Data privacy is a serious issue. The increasing rate of online transactions that use cryptocurrencies make it even more pertinent. Cryptocurrency users have often been the target of hackers. Many have also been the target of governments. We expect this trend to only intensify in the coming years. Privacy blockchains are one of the few solutions to protect against such attacks. PowerKee is one such blockchain that allows users to transact anonymously across a decentralized network. Transactions are instantly processed and users have the option to maintain their privacy.
PowerKee Development
The team is implementing all the design showcased last week into the actually wallet.
It’s in QT and the team had to source an additional DEV to make it faster, trying to work as fast as possible.
While that’s being integrated the core team is double checking the node config with an audit team too as our own economics are applied and tested within our circle only. We extended that now with an auditor which is affordable and available, both points are difficult ones in that market.
The public mainnet release is delayed but we’ll get there and guarantee a secure and safe product. Launching a fully customized mainnet including wallets became a much bigger task than originally expected. The source code wasn’t compatible with our economics which is the reason for all the delay. The team is very proud of the process over the past four months and is happy to give mainnet access to the public as soon as possible.
About PowerKee
PowerKee is a cryptocurrency network that makes privacy easy. Users can transact cheaply and instantly while maintaining anonymity. The PowerKee protocol uses a mixture of zero-knowledge proofs and coin mixing to provide strong privacy assurances to its users.
