How Blockchain can take the Trust out of a Government in a Good Way
Governments are one of the most primary institutions ever invented in human history. They play a major role in order and justice, and without them, there would only be chaos, which has its benefits, but that’s an article for another time. We owe our rights, privileges, some of our struggles, and a lot of our progress to governments. While they tick quite a few boxes when it comes to the structure they provide to the citizens that rely on them, they always prove to have massive room for improvement. While blockchain cannot be applied to all the flaws associated with the government, it can solve the issues related to trust, data, and the trust placed on data, or the lack of it.
First, a little more about blockchain technology and the features it offers that give it a leg up in the tech industry. Security, sequence, and stability are three key characteristics. Security refers to the idea that each block of data in the chain is virtually immutable, and the chances of a malicious attacks succeeding are very low for an entity as large as the government. Sequence refers to the sequential, time-stamped, and inimitable nature of data on the blockchain. Stability could point to the steadiness of such a system rooted in verification, and what are governments if they are unstable. These features build blockchain’s reputation for being a trustless application of ledger technology. Trustless in a good way because the data is always right, leaving no need for trust.
Sectors in the government are known to vary in terms of the level of security they require to guard their information. This is where private, public and permissioned blockchains come into play. Private blockchains, the ones developed on platforms like Impeer and Hyperledger Fabric, do not allow participants that are not exclusively invited into the network to access any of the information stored on the chain. They are not decentralized as they are usually controlled by a company or organization, and the data stored in the blocks can be altered by the owner of the network. The owner can also allocate duties to the participants on the network, and as such, the identities of the participants cannot be hidden. While this may bring into question the security of the private blockchain, it is important to note that all threats to the chain are internal, and since identities are visible, an attack is easy to catch and correct. This type of ledger technology would be perfect for the storage of sensitive data in top security departments of the government like the FBI and the CIA. As long as there is internal integrity, the blockchain cannot fail. This integrity is also easily accomplishable through blockchain technology. Security clearances not only cost a fortune of taxpayer money to conduct, but they take up a great deal of time and energy as well. It is wasteful that many officials have to undergo these checks periodically while they work for the government. Blockchain can make it so that once a person passes a security check, their data will be saved in a block and since this data is immutable, additional checks are unnecessary.
Public blockchains are open to everyone, decentralized, and virtually impenetrable. They can be used by governments to store data for citizen utilization. Currently, there is a large distrust for governments, even democratic ones, all around the world. Using blockchain technology to make certain records public to citizens in a way that they are immune to alteration can increase knowledge of and trust in one’s government. In addition to this, blockchain technology can reduce or even eliminate the need for tedious and expensive auditing procedures that are imperative to governments now.
Another use case for blockchain in the government could be in the employment of Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) that could be used to verify all sorts of identities including ones for government purposes. For example, there are certain services and resources available to citizens, residents and aliens in the United States that are accessible to them once they have verified their identities, residences, employment, and other aspects of their overall identity. Most of the time, the process of verification can be redundant, laborious, and time-consuming, not to mention, these verifications often do not transfer to other departments of the government, or one verification is required to gain another and vice versa making it easy to get stuck in a loop. With DIDs, once a person’s information has been verified and entered into a block on the chain, a public key and private key are generated. These keys are used publicly by the government office, and privately by the individual to unlock the information by the respective parties, making the process simple, quick, and a one-time occurrence.
There is a plethora of use cases for blockchains in the government, a few of which have been outlined in this article. It is important to keep in mind, however, that blockchain as a solution must not be forced onto a problem. Instead, blockchain along with other rising or existing technology should be amalgamated in appropriate use cases to ensure that the required results are achieved, as it would be wasteful to use funds and energy in reinventing a system with the wrong solution.
To conclude, in a perfect world, the successful implementation of blockchain in appropriate use cases in the government would see the redirection of funds used to pay for redundant audits, and security clearances, towards solving some of the important problems in society like homelessness and hunger, the pension shortage, the hike in gas prices, pollution, waste disposal, and so much more.
References
How governments can harness the potential of blockchain. McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/tech-forward/how-governments-can-harness-the-potential-of-blockchain
Blockchain technology has the potential to transform government, but First we need to build trust. World Bank Blogs. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/blockchain-technology-has-potential-transform-government-first-we-need-build-trust
3 potential benefits of blockchain for government. Booz Allen Hamilton. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2022, from https://www.boozallen.com/s/insight/blog/3-potential-benefits-of-government-blockchain.html#:~:text=A%20blockchain%20solution%20for%20some,hold%20copies%20of%20the%20registry.
