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Perspective by: Angie Darrow, chief marketing officer and chief ecosystem communications officer at Web3 Foundation
When a brief data cloud interruption can disrupt the worldwide financial framework — as the AWS Tokyo incident illustrated in April — there’s a significant flaw with the infrastructure that supports today’s data economy.
In the early hours of April 12, Amazon Web Services (AWS) encountered a “connectivity problem” at its Tokyo facility. The outage endured only 36 minutes, but the aftershocks were instantaneous. When AWS stumbles, the structure of the global economy also shakes. It’s not merely our assets or currency at stake.
This same vulnerability is currently approaching the US government, specifically the Internal Revenue Service, through an experimental project initiated by DOGE to create a “mega API” to consolidate taxpayer data access via a single, cloud-based interface.
Let that sink in. The financial information of every American might now be managed through a singular platform. Potentially compromised by a malicious entity. All under the guise of “efficiency.”
We’ve witnessed how perilous that sort of centralization can be. The AWS Tokyo incident is not just a cautionary narrative for global finance; it’s a real-time alert for public institutions considering a complete shift towards cloud consolidation without adequate democratic protections and decentralized technological frameworks. This emerging reality presents a crucial wake-up call for public-trusted institutions.
Evidence of the dangers
Imagine if the IRS mega API fails during tax season. Or if it’s set up incorrectly. Or if it falls victim to hacking. There exists a superior method.
Decentralized technology proposes a fundamentally distinct framework. Instead of concentrating power into a solitary API or cloud service, decentralized systems distribute it across numerous nodes. Access is governed through cryptographic proofs. Actions are validated on-chain, and privacy is upheld through zero-knowledge protocols.
Without data privacy being safeguarded, with government and financial control over some of their most sensitive information, all it takes is a swift policy change to mean someone is no longer eligible for specific services.
Genuine data privacy ensures individual autonomy and equitable treatment for everyone and guarantees that governments and entities are held to the highest accountability standards.
AWS’s quick resolution should not provide comfort. We ought to be concerned that the complete data framework for essential services — financial, governmental, or otherwise — can stop due to a single centralized failure point. If the DOGE mega API operates on this same structure, it could rapidly lead to financial chaos for American families.
Embrace decentralization
In a blockchain-based IRS data system, there wouldn’t be a requirement to grant a central cloud provider access to raw taxpayer information. Instead, smart contracts could validate eligibility for a credit or compliance with a tax regulation without disclosing underlying personal details.
Such frameworks aren’t merely theoretically more secure and structurally more democratic. Data stored on the blockchain is immutable, creating a tamper-proof system that can resist attempts at manipulation.
Alongside this resistant quality, the smart contract system ensures that user data stays private and secure, with minimal need for human interaction with sensitive details.
Related: IRS appoints Trish Turner to direct crypto division amid resignations
That’s why nations like Estonia and regions in the European Union are already investigating decentralized public infrastructure for digital identity and services.
The genuine threat is political exploitation
There’s another, more profound worry here: political authority. When access to citizen information is centralized, so too is the capability to manipulate it. Today, it’s Palantir engineers and DOGE operators. Tomorrow, it could be political appointees with an agenda. A malicious actor could modify your tax returns, employment records, and family data with a single login.
The DOGE initiative is not just an IT modernization strategy. It’s a rethinking of how citizens engage with the government, and how much authority the government (and its contractors) should possess over our data. If we permit these alterations to be expedited, under the mantle of “efficiency,” we risk relinquishing the messy pluralism of public governance for the fragile speed of centralized tech.
The AWS outage is a clear indication: Cloud platforms are not infallible. When they falter, the repercussions are widespread. Let’s not replicate the same error with a governmental organization like the IRS.
Decentralized technology isn’t flawless, but in a time where trust is diminishing and data is a commodity, it offers a more secure, equitable, and resilient governance vision. We cannot afford to overlook that vision of Web3, particularly when our institutions are racing toward the exact opposite.
Perspective by: Angie Darrow, chief marketing officer and chief ecosystem communications officer at Web3 Foundation.
This article serves general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
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