Blockchain privacy groups urge new US Congresspeople to protect privacy rights

Published at: Jan. 10, 2023

Fight for the Future, a digital rights advocacy group, has posted an open letter on its website encouraging the new class of United States congresspeople to protect privacy. The letter has attracted dozens of companies and organizations as cosigners.

“Increasingly, the incredible creative power of US software developers is being chilled by clumsy, misguided legislative and regulatory actions,” the authors of the letter wrote. This is in spite of the fact that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects code as speech, the letter added, and that was why many technologies to protect privacy were created in the United States.

As “an illustration of the robust digital future you [new legislators] should foster,” the letter mentioned Filecoin, ZCash, MobileCoin and several communications protocols by name. The letter encouraged the lawmakers to protect privacy rights, champion end-to-end encryption and safeguard personal data.

In addition, the letter called for “working to identify and correct power imbalances.” The authors explained:

“We need online spaces that are not owned or controlled by a single person, as they put user privacy at risk. We need tools that give individuals and communities power over their online experience.”

Fight for the Future campaigns & communications director Lia Holland told Cointelegraph in a statement:

"Our objective with this letter is to sound the alarm that the previous Congress' neglect of privacy as a human right cannot continue. […] It's time for our legislators to stop trying to punish the open source and decentralized software developers who are giving everyday users as well as vulnerable communities like journalists, activists, abuse survivors and minorities the tools they need to protect their privacy online.”

At the time of writing, the letter had 36 signatories, including industry players such as the Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund, Ledger, Nillion Network, Protocol Labs and Proton. New signers are still being accepted.

Electric Coin Co. joined @fightfortheftr, @BlockchainAssn and others urging Congress to defend the right to privacy, open-source software development and decentralization.You can read the letter here: https://t.co/HVoEfYhlxv

— Electric Coin Co. (@ElectricCoinCo) January 10, 2023