Two of the biggest tech stories this year have been the use of social media platforms to spread political misinformation, and the rise of blockchain technology. Now, the two themes are colliding, as new forms of blockchain-based social media threaten to disrupt the foundation on which many existing platforms were built.
What role will blockchain, with its potential to provide uncensorable communication online, have in the current debate around free speech? How can and should governments respond to the risks that the new technology poses? The emergence of one of the most notorious political conspiracy theorists on a blockchain-driven site drives home how complicated these questions promise to become.
