Velas Products: Privacy Everywhere
For many years, the discussion of “privacy” or “security” has been ongoing, turning into one of the major moral and ethical dilemmas with the evolution of digital technologies. The current situation around the world may push humanity to solve this dilemma in a much shorter timeframe.
The COVID-19 crisis has created new challenges for different sectors surrounding health care, with the protection of human well-being, maintaining privacy and maintaining user confidentiality. Approaches to confidential information are already rapidly changing and adapting in services and platforms, and it is high time to discuss this deeper.
Nobody will be surprised by the news about data leaks from social platforms or the unscrupulous monetization of personal data for advertising purposes. Ordinary network users, even if they didn’t accept it, have the notion that going to the Internet is a “public” way to kiss goodbye to privacy. However, the situation continues to deteriorate against the background of world events.
According to a report by Freedom House, governments in many countries have strengthened measures to expand tracking technology, restrict the right to free Internet, and blanket censorship of certain content. Creating a sovereign Internet and limiting the information flow has become a new trend that is observed around the world, including democratic countries.
Around 28 countries blocked content containing statistics, critical reports and other content related to the current COVID-19 situation. Tracking applications that collect a lot of personal data have been implemented in 54 countries. Often, this information is transmitted in unencrypted form, leading to the misuse of this information and leaking of it. At least 30 countries’ authorities cooperate with telecommunication service providers and other companies to collect information about contacts of citizens and data analysis.
Video surveillance and facial recognition systems are increasingly being implemented around the world, too. China still leads the way in this area. Solutions for remote people identification are actively offered by American and European companies.
This may lead to total online & offline control, because - as history shows - powers and opportunities acquired by the authorities during emergency situations usually stay with them.
Since governments cannot be overplayed in their field, we see an opportunity to create a decentralized system where process regulation, privacy control and censorship are decentralized and supported algorithmically with user interests in mind.
We present BitOrbit as a social media platform based on the Velas blockchain (AIDPOS consensus), with supporting applications and services, that will be available to every user anywhere in the world.
For easy authorization in the ecosystem we provide a Passwordless solution, allowing users to interact with the decentralized world and make one-click payments without confirming each action. The built-in wallet allows you to create trading platforms within BitOrbit, where businesses can sell goods directly via chat. To ensure a high level of security, user passwords, keys and seed-phrases can be stored in the decentralized Velas Vault system on the blockchain.
Our project is focused on privacy and, unlike other social networks and messengers, users will be provided with functionalities not only for creating private chats but also groups and channels with set access and monetization levels depending on their goals. Data and content storage in BitOrbit will be fully decentralized (based on IPFS with Tor support), where access control and management will always be on the user side.
Our main goal is to decentralize centralized services and develop Web 3.0, where hidden business models will be transformed into public and socially regulated.
As followers of early cypherpunk movements, we follow a philosophy that guarantees the prerogative of privacy and freedom for everyone.
“Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age. Privacy is not secrecy. A private matter is something one doesn’t want the whole world to know, but a secret matter is something one doesn’t want anybody to know. Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world.” — Eric Hughes ”A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto”
This is one of a series of articles outlining the complete package of Velas products on offer, and what the team has been working hard on over the past year. We’re covering everything from AIDPOS to Integrated Crypto Wallets and everything in between. You don’t want to miss it!
