With the Big 5 tech companies--Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft--increasingly under fire about privacy violations, collusion with the government, and draconian surveillance and censorship, it makes sense that new solutions are in the pipeline. And with blockchains gaining steam in the tech world, it also makes sense that one of the largest companies in the world, Google, would turn to it for data storage. Apparently, Google is working on a blockchain ledger to support its cloud storage service.
Google is not new to blockchain. In fact, between 2012 and 2017, the tech goliath was one of its biggest investors, scooping up startups and funding them. Google's new blockchain project will launch a decentralized cloud storage service. The use of blockchain technology is expected to create greater security measures and more autonomy for users. It could also help reduce data breaches, such as what was seen with Equifax and Cambridge Analytica.
While major tech companies like IBM and others have already begun major investments into blockchains, Google's new service could help further expedite the mainstream adoption of such systems.
Will the concept of decentralization--the hallmark of blockchain--be threatened by the monopolistic practices of big corporations? Or will centralized systems be slowly improved by peer-to-peer ledgers that wrest control from monolithic entities?