Although blockchain technology was originally designed to be used as the network architecture of Bitcoin, it is now used in various fields. One such area is government governance, where distributed systems play an important role and have great potential to improve public sector work.

Why do government departments want to adopt blockchain technology?

Blockchain technology has many potential advantages in government governance, and the main reason why government agencies consider using blockchain technology is because it can increase decentralization and improve data integrity. and transparency, as well as better improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Decentralization and data integrity

There are many differences in building a blockchain method, but no matter what method it is, there is a certain degree of decentralization. This is because the blockchain network is maintained by a large number of computer nodes, and these nodes run simultaneously to verify and confirm all data. And these nodes need to reach a consensus and form a consensus on the status of the database to achieve a high degree of authenticity.

Therefore, blockchain systems are highly immutable, and their frameworks can be customized according to special needs, thereby ensuring that information access and modification can only be accessed and modified by authorized users. Party execution. In fact, each governing body can act as a validator and participate in the distribution of data and verification procedures. This will greatly reduce the possibility of data tampering and fraud.

At the same time, non-governmental organizations, universities and citizens can serve as verification nodes to achieve a higher degree of decentralization. In addition, these verification mechanisms can prevent some common types of errors such as data entry errors (for example, data blocks lacking underlying information or being rejected by distributed network nodes).

In addition, blockchain is likely to play an important role in the election process one day in the future. Fair and open elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and the high degree of immutability of blockchain makes it an excellent solution for ensuring that votes are not tampered with. In addition to providing additional security for voted data, blockchain has the potential to make secure online voting possible. West Virginia previously experimented with this technology during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections.

Transparency

Blockchain databases can be used to store and protect government records, making The information is difficult for anyone to manipulate or hide. Currently, most government data is stored in centralized databases directly controlled by authorities. And these data are obviously in the hands of a few people, which makes black-box operations easy. In this case, blockchain is a better choice because it can distribute the data storage and verification process to multiple departments, thereby effectively decentralizing power.

Therefore, blockchain can be used as a highly transparent database to reduce (or remove) the need for trust between government agencies and the public. For example, some European government agencies are exploring the potential application of blockchain-based registries to reduce property disputes. This distributed system allows government agencies as well as any citizen to access and verify data, with each party entitled to a copy of official documents and statements.

At the same time, decentralized blockchain can also provide permanent access to records so that law enforcement officials and watchdog agencies can expose corruption and abuse of power. And blockchain systems can also reduce or eliminate the need for intermediaries in data sharing and financial transactions, making it more difficult for government officials to conduct illegal activities through a series of opaque entities.

Improving efficiency

Another way blockchain can be applied in government management The main reason is that it can maximize the efficiency of state agencies and thereby reduce operating costs. Since government agencies rely on tax dollars to run, wise use of the budget is even more important. Blockchain systems and smart contracts can automate tasks and workflows, which will greatly reduce the time and money spent in "bureaucratic procedures."

Reducing administrative expenses is not only practical, but also helps to increase public trust and satisfaction. Lower costs and greater efficiency can lead to higher support for regulatory agencies. At the same time, the government can use the funds obtained from reducing operating costs to invest in other areas (such as education, security, and public health, etc.).

Another area where blockchain technology can be applied in government governance is taxation. Because of the distributed ledger of the blockchain, the transfer of funds between parties becomes smoother (according to preset settings). This is likely to reduce the administrative costs associated with collecting and distributing taxes and enforcing tax laws. For example, tax agencies can provide taxpayers with greater security by storing records and processing tax returns on a private blockchain, effectively protecting taxpayers from fraud or information theft.

Disadvantages and limitations

Although blockchain can effectively improve the Integrity, transparency and improved efficiency, but its use in the public domain still has certain limitations.

Interestingly, the immutability advantage of blockchain can also become its disadvantage in some cases. The immutability of data makes correct entry before data validation particularly important, which also means that some measures must be taken to ensure the accuracy of initial data collection.

Although some initial blockchain designs allow it to be more flexible during execution, that is, to allow data changes, the process of this change requires the support of a majority of nodes (reaching consensus), And because the system is decentralized, the end result is disagreement. However, this shortcoming can be quickly solved on a private blockchain that does not require a high degree of decentralization.

Once data is stored in the blockchain, it is permanently available to accessible users, so privacy issues also become one of the drawbacks. This could conflict with procedures for sealing documents, such as the expungement of criminal records. The laws and regulations of some countries recognize the digital right to be forgotten, and those immutable records may violate existing laws or judicial precedents. The use of destruction functions or cryptographic techniques such as zk-SNARKs or other types of zero-knowledge proofs could potentially solve this problem.

Finally, it should be understood that the government itself may also have obstacles in the application of blockchain. In some places, local government agencies may simply be unaware of the value of blockchain technology, causing them to overlook its many benefits. What’s more, governments where corruption is widespread are likely to resist the use of blockchain technology to protect their own interests.

Conclusion

Although blockchain may have certain disadvantages in some aspects, However, the system still has many feasible applications in government governance. From increasing transparency to streamlining the tax process, distributed networks can be used to help governments become more efficient and, in doing so, create higher levels of citizen trust. Some applications are still in the conceptual stage, while others have already become pilot projects in many countries.

It is worth noting that digital systems have been used in government governance long before the birth of Blockchain (at the beginning of the 21st century). One of the pioneers is Estonia, which launched a digital identity program in 2002 and became the first country to conduct elections over the Internet in 2005. In 2014, the Estonian government launched the e-Resideency project, which mentioned the use of Blockchain technology to manage data and provide higher security for digital data.