Buterin Touts Rarimo’s ‘Freedom Tool’ as Antidote to Authoritarian Surveillance

• Vitalik Buterin discussed blockchain’s role in economic resilience against authoritarian regimes.
• Kyiv-based Rarimo’s “Freedom Tool” uses zero-proof technology for secure and anonymous online voting in repressive contexts.
• Smith and Buterin highlighted the challenges faced by liberal democracies.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and economist Noah Smith recently discussed how blockchain technology could enhance economic resilience against authoritarian regimes, particularly in repressive states like China and Russia.

During a recent Bankless podcast, Buterin highlighted “Freedom Tool,” an open-source software developed by Kyiv-based company Rarimo, as a prime example of blockchain’s potential to provide privacy and trustworthiness in authoritarian contexts. The software leverages zero-knowledge proof technology to ensure the anonymity of Russian citizens during online voting, safeguarding the security and transparency of results while protecting user identities.

Podcast hosts Ryan Sean Adams, David Hoffman, Smith, and Buterin explored the perceived efficiency of authoritarian regimes in the 21st century, particularly in comparison to liberal democracies.

Smith argued that the internet’s centralized data structure may erode the traditional advantages of liberal democracies, such as their ability to effectively aggregate information. He suggested that authoritarian states can exploit this data to gauge public sentiment and allocate resources efficiently, enabling them to respond swiftly to unrest, as demonstrated by China’s response to the 2022 “white paper protests.”

Smith and Buterin also highlighted the challenges faced by liberal democracies, including the proliferation of disinformation, which complicates governance by forcing politicians to counter false narratives and focus on fundraising. Buterin likened the information landscape to a “war of all against all,” suggesting that monopolistic control over narratives might become the only stable equilibrium.

Buterin proposed that creating small, specialized internet communities could help mitigate the spread of false narratives. He cited private group chats and smaller social media platforms like Farcaster as examples of online spaces that maintain higher levels of discourse quality and productivity. He stated:

Twitter is the worst of it that you see, and it’s the worst of it precisely because you can see it right if you think about private group chats, for example. Private group chats consistently maintain higher levels of quality and high levels of productive discourse on smaller social media platforms, whether it’s Farcaster or whatever else they maintain higher levels of discourse.

Buterin also emphasized the importance of blockchain in providing a secure platform for dialogue and organization among citizens living under authoritarian rule.