Enter Own, the new Web3 social platform that aims to deliver TikTok-like quick-loading, short-form content with crypto payments and blockchain-powered transparency. A crucial question lingers: Is logging everything on the Base Layer 2 blockchain a genuine revolution for content ownership, or just a brilliantly disguised marketing ploy with potentially dangerous consequences?

Blockchain Forever: Really A Good Idea?

The allure of blockchain transparency is understandable. In an age marked by opaque algorithms and platform censorship, we yearn for sunlight and transparency. A public ledger that records who owns what content and what activity occurs on the platform truly provides a new hope. Own provides verifiable content ownership and immutable records for creators. With the $OWN token, creators earn more in revenue share. They’re gambling on a future where creators can own their content, income, and identity without the need for cumbersome intermediaries. This sounds like a good thing. Hold on while I take you off the fast track.

Think about it: everything logged on the blockchain. Every single one of the posts, every single like, every single DM (barring the devil’s always in the details – but what’s new). Taking ownership of your content is only the first step. It’s as simple as making a permanent, public record of all your platform activity.

We’ve witnessed disaster resulting from much more benign data breaches. Now, multiply that by your entire social media history. All of your changing views, post-voting-hour thoughts, and after-dinner discussions would be publicly visible for all time to anyone with a blockchain explorer. It’s the equivalent of tattooing your digital identity on your forehead. Forever.

The next stage in creator empowerment, or a privacy disaster in the making?

GDPR, Crypto, and Regulatory Minefield

Own’s blockchain ambitions should instantly ring alarm bells over regulatory compliance, especially with GDPR and other data privacy legislation. Well, you see, GDPR gives people the right to be forgotten – that is, the right to have one’s personal data deleted. But how do you remove something permanently engraved into a immutable database like a blockchain?

I spoke with several lawyers specializing in crypto regulations, and the consensus was clear. Own faces a serious uphill battle proving compliance. One lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, "The very nature of blockchain conflicts with the core principles of GDPR. They're essentially building a platform that's inherently incompatible with current data privacy laws. It's a regulatory time bomb."

Don’t think this is just a matter of legal nit-picking—it’s your data at stake. Do you want to put your faith in a completely new platform to tackle this complicated regulatory terrain? What happens when regulators inevitably come knocking? Will Own be pressured to trade off on its foundational ethos, abandoning first movers? Or even worse, will it incur debilitating fines or be shut down altogether?

To make matters worse, their $OWN token adds even more confusion. Is it a security? A utility token? Under what class will regulators classify it and what does that mean for users who want to purchase, sell, trade it. The uncertainty surrounding these issues is tragic for our profession.

Unintended Consequences: Chilling Effect on Speech?

Beyond these regulatory concerns, Own’s supposed “transparency” of its blockchain would have grave unintended impacts on free speech and creators’ expressive rights. Imagine if you knew that everything you posted, every comment you added to a discussion—forever—was being written in ink and published on the internet for all time. Would you be so quick to share unpopular takes? How would you like to take a little more risk and be more creative with your projects?

I suspect the answer is no. Worst of all, the chilling effect is not restricted to radical transparency. It will further penalize creativity and lead to a homogenized platform where only the most boring and uncontroversial content succeeds.

Further, the new Reddit-style upvote/downvote system, designed to put more power in the hands of the community, might make this worse. Now picture users constantly worried about not being able to express their minority viewpoints. They’re worried that downvotes will drown out their voices and their content. The end product might be an echo chamber in which the minority opinion is chased out of town and a culture of uniformity becomes the default.

Own’s vision of empowering creators is certainly a great aspiration. The devil is certainly in the details. Before you jump on the blockchain bandwagon, ask yourself: is this truly a revolution, or just cleverly marketed surveillance? Are those benefits really worth the very real risks posed to your privacy and freedom of expression?

  • Doxxing/Harassment: Permanent records make users vulnerable to doxxing and harassment.
  • Surveillance: Governments or malicious actors could potentially monitor user activity.
  • Censorship Resistance (Ironically): Immutable records are still subject to content moderation. What happens when a post is deemed illegal? Will Own censor the content, creating an inconsistency between the blockchain record and the user experience?

Own's vision of empowering creators is laudable, but the devil is always in the details. Before you jump on the blockchain bandwagon, ask yourself: is this truly a revolution, or just cleverly marketed surveillance? Are the potential benefits worth the very real risks to your privacy and freedom of expression?