The European commission (EC) announced its recent framework to combat the spread of false online information utilizing blockchain technology as reported by Techcrunch on April 30.
According to the EC press release, blockchain is an emerging technology which is changing the way information is disseminated and produced. It has a crucial role in tackling false information.
The EC intends to introduce this “Code Of Practice On Disinformation” by summer 2018. Blockchain will help provide reliability, traceability, and transparency to news on the internet. The commission stated that the technology can be combined with other identification processes:
| “Innovative technologies, such as blockchain, can help preserve the integrity of content, validate the reliability of information and/or its sources, enable transparency and traceability, and promote trust in news displayed on the Internet. This could be combined with the use of trustworthy electronic identification, authentication and verified pseudonyms…” |
This press release follows another published report regarding calls for more transparency from online platforms in order to fight the spread of false information by the EC High-Level Expert Group (HLEG).
EC announced the creation of the European Blockchain Partnership declaration made up of over 22 countries on April 11. EC Vice-President Andrus Ansip, had previously urged the signing of the declaration and effort to push Europe towards being a world leader in digital innovation with the emerging blockchain development.
MasterCard filed a patent as published on April 26 to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding a system that speeds up activation of new blockchain notes.
The patent outlines the current difficulty facing new blockchain nodes. A computer that’s connected to a blockchain network stores a copy of the blockchain. The system is then required to individually verify a massive amount of data in order to activate. New nodes must verify millions of transaction records (including older nodes), within a large number of different blocks, which generates a significant delay before each node can participate in a network.
The patent filed by MasterCard proposes a solution to this issue with faster navigation. Fast track flags would be included within the block headers so that the new nodes can scan and verify each blockchain at an exponentially faster speed.
The patent also states that there would be use of software that specifically performs query, hashing, and signature operations which would greatly enhance the systems efficiency.
To date, MasterCard has reportedly filed over 30 patent related to blockchain technology as well as cryptocurrency.
They recently filed a patent for blockchain to store and verify their user identity. This would allow MasterCard to help prevent future security breaches and abuses.
Sony Files Patent To Store Digital Rights Data On Blockchain
Sony has filed an application for patent in order to store user digital rights data utilizing blockchain technology. The patent application was published at the US Patent & Trademark Office on April 26.
Sony, known to have innovated many technologies throughout its history like the Sony Walkman or the latest innovation, PlayStation VR. The company intends to set its new sights on the distributed ledger technology so that it can manage and store digital data on the blockchain.
There are a multitude of possible implementations for Digital Rights Management (DRM) which blockchain can solve, however it does disrupt another market.
Current businesses use DRM in order to engage third-party vendors for digital rights lockers and other storage methods that use access to their digital entertainment. Sony states…
| “These conventional solutions may not be very reliable and rely on one unique point of failure. If the rights locker provider or system goes out of business or otherwise fails, the user loses all the acquired content.” |
Sony proclaims that their current system stores content rights in a license that is applicable to a single user. DRM powered by blockchain would negate the need for the third party service license provider and create many other possibilities for the user. This would in fact eliminate the third party service, and give Sony customers more control over their data.
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Mastercard Files Patent to Speed Up Blockchain Node Activation MasterCard filed a patent as published on April 26 to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Sony Files Patent To Store Digital Rights Data On Blockchain Sony has filed an application for patent in order to store user digital rights data
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Spanish Bank Becomes First Global Bank to Issue Loan Using Blockchain Spanish bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), made history today with becoming the first
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IBM filed a patent today for an Internet of things blockchain focused configuration that focuses its proof of work (PoW) protocol to address security issues within the IOT network as published on April 26.
IBMs idea is to restrict a nonce (a number that can only be used once) within a predetermined range. This will solve 2 issues currently facing blockchain solutions for IOT.
IOT devices that have software, network, and sensor connectivity embedded within them could be resolved with a blockchain solution. This would decentralize the interaction between these devices and enable smart contract execution.
“Most IoT devices are constrained in the amount of energy they can consume. To enable such low-power devices to compute proof-of-work for smart contracts, the complexity of a crypto-effort or crypto-puzzle should be reduced. However, reduction in the complexity of the crypto-puzzle can enable malicious participants to manipulate the smart contracts.”
IBM’s patent ensures that all intranet competition is controlled as well as protected from outside invaders. This will allow IOT devices to use computing power beyond a particular threshold which will increase the chances of a successful PoW (proof of work).
The applications of IOT Smart contracts, as envisioned by IBM, would extend P2P energy, weather, and logistic networks, amongst many others.
IBM has also partner with international banks in order to develop blockchain trade finance platforms. This is among many other patents that IBM continues to release every month.
Spanish bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), made history today with becoming the first Global Bank to issue a loan utilizing blockchain technology as reported on April 25.
The multinational bank carried out the entire loan process from negotiation to “terms of signing” on a mutually distributed ledger. The blockchain ledger informed the borrower and the bank of the loan’s progress during the transaction. Negotiation time was literally cut from days to hours utilizing the technology. BBVA called the process a “significant advance in exploitation of blockchain technology”.
Carlos Torres Vila, CEO of BBVA announced that they had more transactions in the immediate pipeline for this blockchain technology. The bank would launch a pilot program with the Spanish telecom corporation Indra, which has described itself as “the Vanguard for blockchain applications”.
BBVA’s pilot project plans to use a private blockchain for completing and negotiating a loan after it’s been registered and completed on the Ethereum blockchain.
Blockchain technology has always had a strong appeal for corporate and syndicated loans as they are more complex than consumer lending. These types of records must be accessed by a host of individuals.
BBVA also plans to also develop a future blockchain application for international trading, lending, and exchange.
Due to these recent events, BBVA has enthusiastically adopted the new technology and is fully invested in several new joint ventures including ones like solarisBank and VEP bank in Germany, which was the very first crypto trading desk within the country.
Senator Bob Hertzberg of California, representing the 18th Senate District, permitted blockchain technology for certain financial platforms and business practices according to this report by Equites.com on April 23.
Bill SB838 allows corporations to utilize blockchain technology to record the names of corporate stockholders, addresses and number of shares registered of each of those stockholders, and all transfers of stock of the corporation.
Senator Hertzberg, who introduced the bill before the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee stated that he is determined to work on governing the next generation and not the next election. He also states that this bill would secure a method to issue and transfer corporate share certificates.
This is a great move towards integrating more blockchain technology within California at a limited capacity, states the senator in this press release:
|
“The world around us is changing, and government must adapt with these rapidly evolving times. California needs to continue our legacy of taking on new and developing technologies, especially ones like Blockchain, which is being embraced worldwide and presents a strong level of security that is resistant to hacking.” |
Walmart submitted 2 US patent applications utilizing blockchain technology for integration of their courier services into their online shopping platform as reported on April 20.
Walmart is diving deeper into blockchain technology and has already hired a team of five programmers from the US and one from the UK to had their patent applications or a Courier Shopping System and Vendor Payment Sharing System.
The Walmart development team is hoping to corner the market with this blockchain technology that weaves together vendors, couriers, and customers into a shopping network where payments are collected and paid out among vendors and couriers using a permission-based blockchain.
The blockchain would also include peer to peer shopping and delivery services among its participants and include a written reputation and rating based system.
The patent covers philosophical theories of human psychology and eliminates several paragraphs of more complex wording to substantiate obvious points. The wording is used to establish a basis for what is considered a common sense approach to the matter, while leaving out more of the technicalities.
Overall, the submitted patent hopes to monitor individual’s behavior and choices over a period of time. It maps out its customers value system in order to target products and services they might prefer along with how they want them delivered.
The patent claims..
|
“Depending upon what sensors a person encounters, information can be available regarding a person’s travels, lifestyle, calorie expenditure over time, diet, habits, interests and affinities, choices and assumed risks, and so forth. This process will accommodate either or both real-time or non-real time access to such information as well as either or both push and pull-based paradigms.” |
The blockchain patent essentially allows the monitoring of an individual’s every move so their behavior can be predicted (pretty creepy). It also referenced the use of artificial intelligence and integration into “Internet Of Things”.
The blockchain patent still remains fairly vague as its missing actual programming details and technical specifications on how this behavior monitoring will be achieved.
It seems that Walmart is trying to cover the broad concept of monitoring customer’s behavior so that it may be able to be the sole collector of any valuable profile data. This would essentially create a snapshot on every customer who uses their system and would enable the blockchain technology to store this information forever.
With the recent questioning of Mark Zuckerberg, and the US government questioning of the accused Facebook on violating public privacy, it’s very disturbing to find out that there may be more sinister violations of privacy brewing within the US patent offices within Walmart HQ.
The Belgian government stated that they will make a contribution of €2 million in order to promote a blockchain project by the World Food Programme announced on April 20.
The United Nations will utilize blockchain technology to fight against hunger and impoverished areas. The project is named “Building Blocks” and along with other agencies within the United Nations, it has been implemented to enable the WFP (World Food Programme ) the ability to send cash transfers to over 100,000 Syrian refugees. The Syrian refugees are located in Jordan camps. The refugees will be utilizing the donations from these funds in order to obtain food and other crucial resources.
The Deputy Prime Minister For Development Cooperation, Alexander De Croo states…
|
“Innovation saves lives. This year, more than 128 mln people across the world will need humanitarian assistance and protection. This is triple the number of three years ago. Only by finding better ways to deliver aid more efficiently will we close the gap between requirements and aid delivery on the ground. Belgium lauds the efforts of WFP to come up with innovative solutions to save more lives and help more people in need.” |
The blockchain technology has already been tested by the WFP in Pakistan and has benefited over 10,000 people so far.
NASA has been awarded a grant that supports the development of an autonomous spacecraft that will utilize blockchain technology in order to make decisions without human intervention. This reported by Space.com on April 18.
The assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Jin Wei Kocsis, received a $330,000 NASA grant support her research. The program will take a closer look into the Ethereum based blockchain technology regarding the development of a secure computing system to be utilized in deep space.
Kocsis states…
|
“In this project, the Ethereum Blockchain technology will be exploited to develop a decentralized, secure, and cognitive networking and computing infrastructure for deep space exploration… I hope to develop technology that can recognize environmental threats and avoid them, as well as complete a number of tasks automatically. I am honored that NASA recognized my work, and I am excited to continue challenging technology’s ability to think and do on its own.” |
The NASA spacecraft will reportedly use smart contract technology in order to “think for itself”. This will enable it to automatically detect and dodge debris in a timely and efficient manner.
Kocsis is hoping that this technology will allow the spacecraft to complete more tasks, give scientists more time for analysis, and provide more data so that operators would no longer be occupied with environmental threats to the craft.
A timeline wasn’t disclosed for when this technology would be sent into space. The advanced communications program manager, Thomas Kacpura, stated that this is the first time the center considered blockchain applications regarding navigation and space communications.
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