Users Must Be Protected From Child Abuse Imagery Found On Bitcoin Blockchain

Researchers from German universities have discovered data in the Bitcoin Blockchain that may mean absolutely everyone who downloads it is breaking the law.

In a paper posted by two groups that come from Aachen and Frankfurt University, authors decided to claim sexual images and links to child pornography attached to Bitcoin transactions has the ability to criminalize swathes of the nascent Blockchain industry.

“Bitcoin’s blockchain contains at least eight files with sexual content. While five files only show, describe, or link to mildly pornographic content, we consider the remaining three instances objectionable for almost all jurisdictions: Two of them are backups of link lists to child pornography, containing 274 links to websites, 142 of which refer to Tor hidden services,” the paper states.

“While largely harmless, potentially objectionable blockchain content is infrequently inserted, e.g., links to alleged child pornography or privacy violations.”

Bitcoin transactions can usually accommodate small packets of additional data, with only 1600 documents presently in storage at the Blockchain. “Sexual” content material makes up just 0.5% of the total, but in some countries, it could be sufficient to constitute illegal activity on the part of bitcoin users.

The foundation of the entire questionable document is not known yet:

“Notably, two of the explicit images were only detected by our suspicious transaction detector, i.e., they were not inserted via known services,” the researchers add.

As an increasing number of countries introduce hard-and-speedy guidelines for the burgeoning Blockchain phenomenon, maintaining the technology at the proper aspect of the law will need work, the paper concludes.

“We thus believe that future blockchain designs must proactively cope with objectionable content. Peers can, e.g., filter incoming transactions or revert content holding transactions… but this must be scalable and transparent.”