"We're facing the problems of loss of privacy, creeping computerization, massive databases, and more centralization," says leading developer Hal Finney. "But the computer can be used as a tool to liberate and protect people, rather than to control them." Finney was one of the original cypherpunks. The cypherpunks were a loose collection of programmers and cryptographers bonded by a libertarian outlook suspicious of all forms of centralized power and control. Finney passed away in 2014, but it's fair to assume that he would have been concerned by many recent developments in the digital space. In fact, those who follow in Finney's footsteps, like Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, believe that transparent and accountable digital networks are the only ways ...

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