How to avoid turning our lives into the next Black Mirror episode

In 2016, a photo of Mark Zuckerberg covering his laptop’s camera with tape went viral and left us all wondering if we should be as paranoid and do the same. More interestingly, though, is that today we are trying to protect ourselves from Facebook.

“Shut up and dance” is one of Black Mirror’s scariest episodes because it takes place in the present and describes a situation that could realistically happen to any of us. This episode addresses current issues that are related to cybersecurity, as we watch poor Kenny discover that he has been filmed in an awkward situation after his computer becomes infected with malware. He soon receives an anonymous text written all in capitals that reads, “WE SAW WHAT YOU DID”, followed by a series of threatening messages demanding he do exactly as they say, or the compromising film will be shared publicly. Being filmed inside the privacy of our own bedrooms sounds terrifying, but is a nightmare that has come true. In fact, a research study from Symantec shows that “ransomware attacks worldwide have increased by 36 percent in 2017, with more than 100 new malware families introduced by hackers”. In 2016, a photo of Mark Zuckerberg covering his laptop’s camera with tape went viral and left us all wondering if we should be as paranoid and do the same. More interestingly, though, is that today we are trying to protect ourselves from Facebook.

Are big corporations a bigger threat than hackers?

In march, an investigation published by The New York Times and The Guardian revealed that data analysis firm, Cambridge Analytica, had accessed an alarming amount of Facebook users’ data in 2013; “The firm harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users without their permission, according to former Cambridge employees, associates and documents, making it one of the largest data leaks in the social network’s history”.

Using tape on our webcam might help us protect ourselves from being watched by hackers, but it won’t stop big corporations from trying to use our online behavior for bigger purposes. What we have learned after the Cambridge Analytica scandal is that our “likes” and any other piece of data are considered a valuable asset. Our data is being used to collect personal information, form a behavioral pattern, and is used for political reasons; “The data Cambridge information collected from profiles included details on users’ identities, friend networks and ‘likes.’ While only a tiny fraction of the users had agreed to release their information to a third party”. According to The Guardian, Cambridge Analytica, who had also worked with Donald Trump’s election team and the winning Brexit campaign, “harvested millions of Facebook profiles of US voters, used the data to build a powerful software program to predict and influence choices at the ballot box.”

Can blockchain provide a realistic solution to data protection issues?

Taped cameras, two-factor authentication, encrypted computers, impossible-to-remember passwords, and other measures that might get you completely paranoid don’t feel like a solution to me. “There’s no protection against technology, except with technology,” wrote Marshall Mcluhan, and this technology is finally here.

Most blockchain evangelists say this technology will democratize outdated industries by bringing security, transparency and trust to our lives and the economy. But how, exactly? An algorithm removes intermediaries and untrusted third parties by creating a computer based validation process. The size of the network and the protocol itself ensures that the information inside the chain is valid and remains intact. The technology is so solid, that it could be used as an evidence in court. The blockchain is also transparent, meaning that anyone can access the validated data stored within the chain. But if anyone can access the information, how can it bring security when holding a user’s data? Blockchain provides a proof of existence and a valuable piece to the future decentralized economy, but still requires several other crucial parts to work. To protect our privacy we’d have to achieve true decentralization.

Why does the idea of ‘Decentralization’ fit better?

A decentralized space will provide everyone with equal rights and a network that is controlled by users as opposed to a single company. A decentralized network gives people a choice. The architecture behind decentralized networks enables a deeper way for the people to control their digital environment, instead of submitting to the rules and regulations of a single platform. As a result, the creation of decentralized spaces could help solve the issues with current platforms like Facebook.

Recently, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 into law, which is an online privacy act that restricts large tech companies from the use of California consumers’ data: “The law aims to allow Californians to opt-out of having their data sold, and companies will not be able to penalize them— by limiting their use of the service, for example — for choosing to do so”. The solution aims to give some control back to users, but it doesn’t completely solve the problem. Blockchain decentralization gives power back to users who are no longer under the control of an omnipotent organization that sets the rules. Instead, it provides users with the possibility of building their own safe, online spaces. Decentralization means that each person is in control of the information shared and has the same and equal rights as the rest of the users involved in the project, platform, or system. It might be the beginning of a new democratic internet.