Originally associated with cryptocurrencies, blockchain and
distributed ledger technology (DLT) are in fact very versatile
and can be usefully applied to the social economy. However, it is
important to regulate them properly and gear them to benefits for
all, allowing everyone to participate, says the EESC in a report
tabled at its July plenary.
While large-scale use of these technologies is linked to the
spread of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, they also
have social, cultural, political and economic
potential, stresses the EESC.
We can draw parallels with the invention of the printing
press
, says rapporteur Giuseppe
Guerini. As we know, the first book to be
printed was a bible. Now, imagine if people had equated the
printing press with a means capable of printing only bibles -
that would have been inaccurate, because printing technology
revolutionised life in Europe
.
The EESC has drawn up a long list of possible
applications for blockchain and DLT that can be of
great interest to social economy enterprises, including:
-
tracing donations and fundraising. Donors would be
able to follow the flow and destination of money donated to
NGOs. NGOs, on the other hand, could report in detail on each
expenditure stream, ensuring that money invested is actually
used for its intended purpose;
- improving the governance of social economy organisations,
making consultation of members and voting more secure
and traceable, facilitating participation even where
members are spread out geographically or too numerous to hold
traditional general meetings;
-
authenticating activities carried out at a
distance by associations and cooperatives working in education
and training or entertainment, or staging artistic and
intellectual productions;
-
certificating skills, ensuring the security of
qualifications and diplomas in digital format;
-
making intellectual property rights and copyright clearer
and more certain, establishing "smart contracts" for the
transfer of content;
-
offering secure telemedicine and e-care systems. A
huge number of social economy organisations are involved in
health care and social assistance located in close proximity to
the people needing them, including in decentralised areas where
this application could have a considerable impact on people's
quality of life;
-
making agricultural products fully traceable and
identifiable, preventing fraud and counterfeiting. Many
agricultural cooperatives regard this application with great
interest.
Nevertheless, the huge potential of the new digital technologies,
coupled with the considerable investment required, also exposes
blockchain technology to the risk of
concentration - of data and technological networks
being subject to speculation and hoarding in the hands of the few
players or countries able to make large investments, warns the
EESC.
We don't want to see a digital divide that creates more
inequality and injustice. We don't want to see a new elite
emerging, of people who are familiar with the new technologies
and end up excluding others from the economy and the
market
, says the rapporteur.
It is important that there be public measures
to support the development of these technologies in a
participatory and accessible way. And
the involvement of civil society is
imperative to make sure that the democratic potential is not
lost, stresses the EESC.
EU regulation makes sense because this technology
uses chains that can be created irrespective of
national borders. So the EU needs to be involved in this
sector and coordinate efforts, argues the EESC. The large
investments required call for coordinated, structured
European action.
Background
Blockchain technology is an IT protocol dating back to the 1990s,
whose development is linked to cryptocurrencies. It is both a
code and a public register in which all transactions between
participants in a network are recorded one after the other, with
a high degree of transparency and in a way that cannot be
altered. Each participant is a link in the chain, helping to
validate and store the data that is being exchanged. This should
make the data processing secure and help build mutual trust
between blockchain participants. Blockchain is therefore an
attractive tool for redefining security in digital transactions.
In 2018, the European Commission proposed to develop
a European
Blockchain Partnership, triggering the creation of
the EU Blockchain Observatory and
Forum, which has already published a number of thematic reports.
The EESC is currently working on a report on Blockchain and the single
market, due to be finalised in October 2019.
Read the EESC's opinion entitled Blockchain and
distributed ledger technology as an ideal infrastructure for the
social economy
