Pavel Durov Arrested: Another Case For Decentralized Databases Like Hive

in LeoFinance3 months ago

Governments are on the attack. Confidence is on the collapse and the control is fading. As this happens, they are asserting more effort to shut down dissent.

This is something that was brewing for a number of years. It is also part of a larger collapse cycle. The numbers for the mainstream media are waning, which is no surprising since it is really nothing more than the propaganda arm for governments and major corporations.

People are turning to other sources. Platforms that allow discussion are a threat.

The latest move is the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov.

As more of this occurs, we see the need for open, permissionless blockchains grow in importance.

Telegram Arrest: Free Speech Attack

Government approved speech is what they seek. The hijacking of the media is one way for governments to control this. We saw this throughout history and it certainly is the case today.

With Telegram, the leaders have a problem. Both Russians and Ukrainians can share freely about what they are experiencing. This goes against the narrative which is nothing more than propaganda.

After all, the first casualty of war is the truth.

The same is true with Israel and Hamas. Both sides can use the platform for distributing their information (propaganda). This goes against the age old tactic of the only propaganda a government wants is its own.

Of course, technical design of these platforms makes them susceptible to these actions. They are based upon the client-server architecture. As we discussed in the past, that means the data is owned by the company that has the servers.

This also means there is a target.

Removing The Attack Vector

A year ago, Rumble was getting a fair bit of attention as an alternative to YouTube. While that might have been the case with regards to some of the policy, the challenge is that it is still the same type of system.

Rumble can take whatever stance it wants, there is still a point of vulnerability. It is a company with a door to knock on. That means the government can show up, if it is inclined, and take action.

There is nothing decentralized about Rumble. It controls its infrastructure and whatever is posted on there, as far as I know, is resident on centralized servers. The company behind Rumble might own the infrastructure but it is still owned by a single entity.

With blockchain, we are looking at something different. In fact, we have a system that is the opposite of what we see with the client-server framework.

The data, which is text for the most part, is resident on unrelated nodes. This means that it cannot be erased. Once it is in the database, it is basically immutable. The added benefit is that no single person or company is responsible for the data.

This aligns with the free speech discussion.

When something is truly decentralized, it is beyond attack. We saw this with open source software which simply spread, morphed, and grew over time. Blockchains such as Bitcoin were attacked for years, with no impact. The data in the network is unchanged, with new transactions added each day.

This means anyone can read the information. The only thing required is a block explorer, which also can be created as open source.

The Hive Blockchain

While Telegram is a multi-feature application, meaning that it provides a host of activities that often extend past the abilities of blockchain. For example, there is a private messenger feature that allows people to engage directly. There are naturally some conversations that people do not want public.

Thus, we are not looking at a direct comparison.

However, we see the ability to write to a permissionless database as an alternative to what we commonly interact with, i.e. the client-server architecture.

Hive allows for anyone with some basic stake to post to the database. The text is placed in blocks every few seconds and is mostly irreversible is another couple seconds. This means the information is resident on unrelated nodes spread throughout the world.

Applications are centralized. That said, some are open source which can be used by anyone. This means it could become a game of whack-a-mole as new aones open up. Governments showed their inability to keep pace with the file sharing programs a couple decades back.

Since the data is not tied to the application, killing it does nothing. The information still exists. It is a radical concept in terms of the architecture. Governments (and corporations) are accustomed to dealing with entities they can focus upon. The decentralized design is a problem.

The Case Against Durov

The problem for Durov is that he (his company) is forced to comply with the laws. When they are passed, if he wants to operate, compliance is necessary.

Here is the basis for his arrest:

The offences levelled at Durov by France’s OFMIN, an agency that deals with the prevention of violence against minors, include fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and organised crime, according to the AFP news agency, which quoted officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Source

Certainly I have no knowledge of French law but it is evident they decide this is what the platform is responsible for. Of course, it is not beyond governments to accuse an individual of one things while targeting for something completely different.

Misdirection is something governments specialize in.

We are facing wars that are used to basically hide the fact that the system they are operating is unsustainable. Historically, war is a great way to default. We see Zelenskyy doing this now as he suspends payment on the Ukrainian debt.

As I said a couple years ago, the EU is ground zero for this. It is only being outpaced by Japan in the race kick off the sovereign debt crisis. War can provide the cover to take action in a way that doesn't upset the masses.

At least that is the hope.

If one cannot sell the debt, it becomes impossible to keep using it as a funding mechanism. Much of what is produced by the EU ends up on the balances sheets of its own banks. This is a problem if it is not being spread throughout the world. It means buyers are drying up.

Of course, this is not something the politicians and bureaucrats what out there. It is all a confidence game and if people stop believing, then a host of issues quickly arise.

This is why controlling the message is vital.


What Is Hive

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This is why I am still around, haha. The tech is great and is a great way to keep things running if they come after a centralized business. That's why I post all of Coin Logic's material here is so if they came after me and the domain, then the content would at least still be out there.

This is why I am about to do something that I know many Hivers don't really support, but I have already created the account and going to start making content around 3D printed guns. Many of the files are stored on Odysee, but I feel like there needs to be another decentralized database for those kind of files. I am a big fun advocate and have been messing around with some of my own builds lately. The idea is to find the best files, build them, test the shit out of them on video, and put the files on an IPFS system so that they will be out there and can't be taken down. If I have to run my own IPFS node, then so be it.

I will be using Hive for the instructional content and a repo for providing those links. I will of course be recording and putting some videos up on 3speak, but def NOT YT, lol.

Hopefully these posts won't get downvoted into oblivion, lol.

Yeah, I have built one of those, lol.

The data, which is text for the most part, is resident on unrelated nodes. This means that it cannot be erased. Once it is in the database, it is basically immutable.

The HIVE/STEEM fork exposed the weakness and potential immutability of Proof of Stake, in my opinion. Without new governance schemes, that are at this time unknown to me, Proof of Stake will always remain in the category of Utility Coins, not security coins, not anonymous coins and certainly not asset coins for wealth storage.

When I see anyone arrested now, I assume they are a victim of corrupt politicians. I assume the true criminals are freely running countries and jailing anyone who notices their crimes. Sad, but I dare anyone to show me my assumptions are baseless. !BBH

That might be the case.

It is hard to believe any of these politicians anymore. The collapse in confidence of government is upon us.

We are in for a rough period.


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Control system with propaganda thee major tools of the government with thier legal gangs know as the military

I agree that the decentralized nature of Hive prevents it from being targeted in a similar manner. I think that even if some of our witnesses have revealed their identities, having different nodes and servers makes Hive very resilient. I do hope we as a community do a good job of policing our own, and prevent any illegal activities like organized crime and drug trafficking from happening here.

Without a doubt.

There are witnesses all over the world. With over 120 running the software, it is hard to take them down.

We also could see a major boost as the data size gets smaller. It seems there are things being done to ensure people can run different types of nodes (smaller) to keep things going.

Yeah, I've seen some posts on how easy it is to set up a witness node. There are even all in one software setups available.

I am not sure how easy it is. Of course, what is hard for me with that type of stuff could be a piece of cake for those who know about it.

The all in one setup seems to use an executable that sets things up automatically. There are still some things left to do after install, but most of the grunt work seems to have been taken care of by the program.

This is not only an attack on free speech but also pretty sad news.

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