Privacy rights should not be violated: Ethereum co-founder discusses the importance of personal data security

【Blockchain Rhythm】Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared his views on personal privacy on social media. He stated that he has always supported the development and use of privacy tools, not only because he believes privacy itself is important, but also because he has personally experienced the value of these tools.

In his view, there is a common misconception in society today: many people believe that personal privacy can be freely disclosed, while governments and law enforcement agencies need to access everyone’s information to maintain order. Vitalik explicitly opposes this view. He pointed out that government databases are often hacked, and a large amount of sensitive information ultimately ends up in foreign hostile forces. This precisely demonstrates that centralized large-scale data storage inherently carries significant risks.

Vitalik also shared his personal experience using privacy tools. When purchasing software for personal use, his name is never entered into any corporate database. What does this mean? It means users have real choice and control over their information. Even more noteworthy is that, even after these tools have been discontinued for many years, they can still operate normally—this reflects the resilience of decentralized applications.

This discussion touches on a long-standing core concern of the Web3 community: in the digital age, who should truly own personal data?