# Naomi Brockwell [NBTV] x Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress

- Channel: [Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress](https://streameth.org/ethereum-cypherpunk-congress)
- Date: 2025-10-07
- Duration: 24:03
- Topics: Education
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-iwDS8xJMO7Y
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwDS8xJMO7Y

## Description

Naomi Brockwell [NBTV] unpacks why privacy matters in 2024, what's the idea behind priv/acc movement, surveillance capitalism and digital activism at Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress, Bangkok 11.11

Facilitated by the Web3Privacy now collective: https://www.web3privacy.info
Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress: https://congress.web3privacy.info
X: https://x.com/web3privacy

## Transcript

thank you so much for having me I'm I'm really delighted to be here and this is a such a badass group of people just understanding that Nexus between technology and privacy and that both are necessary for the preservation of uh future Freedom so thanks so much for for having me um for those of you who don't know who I am my name is Nai Brockwell I run a research and media Institute called llo Institute and we have an educational platform called mbtv where we create free content for people so that they can learn how to navigate the digital world and reclaim their freedom and reclaim their privacy and autonomy and all of those good things uh so that's basically what what I'm focused on and uh and I'm focused on it because I believe that we're in DIA streets and that we not only need to preserve privacy technology that we already have but we need to accelerate its uh adoption we need to accelerate the building of it because I think we're uh in grave danger of losing it we're fighting against legislation that's trying to ban and encryption that's trying to mandate backd doors in every digital app we are fighting against cultural complacency which I think is a huge issue we're fighting against what I think is an Insidious s up uh to try to demonize privacy uh and there's just a lot working against us which means that people are moving away from privacy tooling they are using all kinds of products and services that are just harvesting their data they're handing over all of their autonomy to groups that would try to control them and I do think that we just need a major push to reclaim all of this online um how it will be comfortable for you to make a presentation or do a fire sight uh so I I'm happy to do a presentation I've basically just written something that's based on why I think privacy acceleration is important and why I think that this group of people is particularly perfect for accelerating this movement and changing Society I think we have a strong history of being at the Vanguard of cultural change and so I I'm happy to present or if you wanted to ask questions happy to do that too ah perfect then let's go full on show your slides thank you oh I couldn't quite hear that say that again yeah yeah uh you can start presentation we are here thank you right sounds great um so I wanted to talk to you about how simply understanding that privacy is a value and important is not enough anymore we need privacy acceleration and we need adoption and we need it fast so I want to as I said explain why the people in this room are perfectly positioned to do this and how hackers and Tech Builders have always been at the Vanguard of cultural change so for me I believe that privacy acceleration ation is of vital importance in order to preserve the future of freedom in society so let's start by understanding why privacy is important and who needs it because sometimes I think we forget there are a lot of people here who probably just accept that this is a fundamental right and that's great but I think we do need to tap into the why so we can convince other people there are a lot of people who don't seem to be on the same page as us uh so people that immediately come to mind for me are whistleblowers journalists activists human rights workers we just had an amazing whistleblower uh talk uh prior to me at this conference uh so privacy is essential for all of these people to make sure that they're speaking truth to power and holding uh powerful entities accountable we need privacy for that and I recently discovered you know I'm researching this topic and understanding these groups that need privacy and I discovered this's an entire Wikipedia page build with journalists and media workers who have been killed in Mexico alone an entire Wikipedia page um just pages of people who've been targeted by things like Pegasus for example for exposing government corruption and violence amongst drug cartels and so these surveillance tools that Target them um they were used to track these journalists in this uh in this list and for them privacy was not optional for them it was life-saving and ultimately the surveillance tools one they were hunted down so things like that happen all over the world uh all the time people who are trying to make the world a better place um and there are people who would prefer the status quo and they fight against them and privacy is just essential for them to to do their job now unfortunately surveillance is everywhere it's not just in targeted tools like Pegasus it perve every aspect of our Digital Life your privacy is currently in danger so we're not only fighting against extreme technical Innovation when it comes to surveillance Tech we are fighting against private companies that have normalize data collection in every aspect of our lives uh we are now aggregating endless data points from all kinds of disperate data sense and data sets and we are drawing ever more inferences from that data and I'm covering more patterns that can be used to to Target people um and breaches are more common than ever you know we have increased kyc mandate everywhere uh forcing us to hand over more and more personal information that companies can't protect and then every year we also see more legislation pushing to ban and encryption to mandate back doors in our apps so we have corporations malicious actors governments all working together actively to undermine our privacy so privacy is in danger and the reality is that we're not advancing privacy technology fast enough to keep paace with those who are trying to strip it but there's one more adversary that we are fighting and I think this may be our biggest battle so and it may also be the key to winning against all the other entities that I just mentioned I think that the final boss in this battle is cultural complacency we have the everyday person who claims they have nothing to hide which I think is an Insidious uh um uh phrase so I don't think this complacency is accidental I think it is one of the most Insidious scops in history we've come to lionize transparency as a virtue and shame those who want privacy and I think it's it's backwards um I like the phrase you know it's public servants and and private citizens but somehow in society we've we've flipped it and we've uh ended up with the opposite so when someone says I have nothing to hide for me I see that as the perspective of someone who has never faced Injustice or under oppression I feel like it is something that someone says when they're quite comfortable existing within the Norms that Society has forced on them and I feel like this type of phrase gives no thought to how laws Norms or power could shift in the future so I think it's a dangerous phrase it also disregards all of those in society who rely on privacy to do their work safely the types of people I just mentioned you know privacy isn't just about protecting ourselves individually it's a societal Safeguard and it's about protecting our future so without it our ability to communicate freely organized against corruption to expose abuse is compromised um those who fight for a better world and actively push back against existing power structures rely on privacy to do their work safely so we should not be tempted to dismiss the Privacy simply because we personally don't feel like we need it or we personally feel like we have nothing to hide what matters is whether we have the choice of privacy if and when we need it and we are dangerously close to losing that choice and eliminating that choice for everyone so privacy is the foundation of that allows us to navigate uh the world freely without unwarranted surveillance without manipulation and it's essential for a free Society so let's talk about why privacy development is not advancing fast enough and this complacency is a giant Factor so users who feel that they have nothing to hide they continue to support products and tools and companies that Harvest their data and so we are pushing privacy Alternatives out of the market we're not we're just not giving them uses um there's no signal for companies to prioritize privacy because everyone's choosing these companies that just disrespect them as users and then many developers don't feel compelled to work on privacy tools uh because they're not feeling this pressing need because we've really diminished the value of privacy in society but there's also a Fear Factor it's not just complacency people are scared to develop privacy tools privacy has become branded as only for criminals um and people feel that it brings too much risk so look at Roman seminar Roman storm who were arrested for writing open source code you know we've started sanctioning open- Source privacy protocols this is unpreceded ented and probably illegal yet here we are and this has led to a chilling effect which discourages people from using or creating these tools and I think that's very dangerous and I think we need to push back against this narrative we can't just lie down and take it h we need to actively fight the people who are saying that privacy is just a tool for criminals and I get a lot of push back I get comments from people who um I I I I start a thing I was like hey let's voice out let's stand together in solidarity let's voice our support for privacy and show that we're privacy accelerationists and someone you had this big back of both with me on on um social media like if we all stand up and voice our um support of privacy that's going to make us a Target but for me I I feel like if you think that voicing your support for privacy or using these tools makes you a Target now imagine how much worse it is going to be when your privacy disappears because you didn't fight for it so it may make people a Target and I think that is the cost right now because the alternative is possibly losing the option of privacy forever we need to stand up right now uh and we need to fight hard so accelerating privacy is essential we need more tools we need more support for developers um we need a stronger push against the narrative that surveillance is normal and I sometimes wonder you know how did we get to this point where privacy became something shameful we use this shameful language around it right what have you got to hide as if people should have to justify wanting privacy in their lives you know I don't feel like privacy is something to apologize for privacy is about choosing who gets access to our information and re claiming our rights to decide so this narrative about privacy not being important I feel is Insidious and Society we have a giant battle ahead of us because not only do we need to Ure that privacy tools continue to exist but we need people to start prioritizing privacy as a value in their lives because I don't feel like we are going to get the momentum in this movement that we need unless we Galvanize more people and get them to join us so why are the people in this room best suited to create this cultural shift I mean it's not just because you're all attending a privacy conference that definitely helps um but it's because throughout history hackers and technologists have constantly been at the Vanguard um of change so look at examples like the Clipper chip this was a US Government proposal for backd doors in consumer electronics citing National Security and the hacker Community joined forces with civil liberties organizations and notable cryptographers they pushed back hard they exposed Wars and potential for misuse and their combined efforts essentially LED technology being abandoned and this was a huge victory for privacy won by a coordinated informed action from people like you in this room and then there was the hactivism from the 90s and 2000s groups like cold of the dead cow for example this was a movement that fused technology politics and culture and their mission was clear it was to promote human rights to protect the free flow of information and to challenge the buring surveillance State and when they first released their tool back orist in 1998 it was a wakeup call to users and major companies about the importance of taking security seriously and then this conference itself is called Cipher Punk confer Congress so let's look at the cipher punks the original Cipher punks and people like heal um Phil Zimmerman the creator of pgp so they shifted encryption from being classified as a regulated munition to a tool that safeguards privacy and uh security globally so this was a huge battle that they fought on all kinds of fronts and they eventually won so hackers and Tech Builders have both the technical skills and the edge to lead this privacy battle privacy I believe isn't just a legal or a political issue it is a technical one too and no one understands the technical landscape better than the people who are here at this conference so finally I want to talk about what are some of the ways that we can accelerate privacy so first we need more Builders uh open source projects like tour graphine OS veracrypt all kinds of different privacy coins and uh privacy protocols they all need help in all kinds of different ways whether you feel that you're technical or not you know the heart bed vulnerability um you've all heard of it it showed us that even critical open source tools can be underfunded and under reviewed so I believe that bug went unnoticed for two or three years and when you actually looked at the code base it was being maintained by someone who was earning $2,000 a year in donations I really think we need to Galvanize support uh for the people who are creating the tools that protect all of us and if you're technical you know we shouldn't just presume someone else is checking the code because things like heart blach showed us that this just isn't necessarily true um so we need more people contributing and funding these tools so if you're a developer um you know one of the things you can also do is is ensure maximum uh default settings default settings that maximize privacy I think that's really important as well because users tend to not be technologically adapt so if you can minimize the room for error especially for people whose lives depend on these privacy tools it's just such a huge contribution and then not on the technical side of things because I'm sure there are lots of people who are not necessarily coders um or or build that they are technically adapt but you know everyone else can improve usability by providing feedback uh by testing these products uh people can translate and educate so improve user manuals or translate them to expand access globally they can make tutorials about how to use these tools to make them more accessible so I think we need to spread awareness that powerful privacy software exists and we also need to spread awareness about surveillance uh I realized you know I when I first started doing what I do I was thinking that I must have been the last person on the train because I'm looking at some of the surveillance that's going on behind the scenes and some of the everyday tools we're using and I'm thinking well this is egregious surely everyone knows about this because there's no way that we wouldn't be talking about this you know um if if uh people haven't noticed it it turns out that I that there's so much going on in the techway using that people are just not aware of even technical people that I talk to sometimes they're just completely unaware of some of the surveillance technology built into the tools that they're using and that's sometimes by Design companies deliberately OB thecate how much data they're collecting um that's definitely contributed uh by governments who also want to collect this data so they have really no incentive to make to hold uh companies accountable when they misrepresent the amount of data being collected and governments themselves are also buying this data from data Brokers so they're not doing anything to push back against those third parties who are you know harvesting uh all of your data from from across the internet so there's a reason why a lot of this stuff is remains in the dark and we just need more research to uncover it and let people know that it's going on so I think education is a huge part of this uh but the final thing is just advocating for cultural change I think this is the biggest way that we can have impact so simply leading by example in your local group can make a huge difference normalizing privacy pushing back when others try to excuse systematic surveillance uh we need a quorum of people standing up and saying that this is not okay and that's when we start to turn the tide of public opinion so we are social creatures unfortunately sometimes um but that does mean that in a group with coordinated effort we have an amazing potential to enact change for huge impact if we can stand together and just make sure that we're pushing back against those who try to normalize pervasive surveillance in our lives I already see it happening I already see the tide tur turning I see more and more people wanting to learn how they can protect themselves wanting to learn what their Tech is doing I think that's great but I think that it needs to happen faster because we are fast hitting a Tipping Point where privacy as an option is being stripped from our future lives so being a privacy accelerationist means fting to support privacy tools today so they continue to exist tomorrow it means making sure that get into as many hands as possible so that everyone can have access regardless of their wealth or technical expertise it means fighting against Bad legislation that aims to strip us of the choice of privacy which we are dangerously close to having happen and it means pushing back against this cultural shift that is turning privacy into a pariah we need to stop normalizing pervasive surveillance and remind people that privacy is a good thing that helps protect those who are most vulnerable so being a privacy accelerationist means actively fighting now and we can no longer afford to wait people to wait up to what's at stake need to act now and we need to keep the choice of privacy alive for everyone especially those who may not even realize that they need it yet so if you're working on a privacy project that is helpful for people please let me know if I can help amplify your project get in touch with me if you are interested in helping me vet projects that are sent to me please get in touch uh if you have articles that you want my eyeballs on let me know how I can help spread your message um and let other people know how you can help their projects as well uh I think that we are all United on this front that where we value privacy and we understand what's at stake and so let's help each other out as much as possible and just move this uh this movement forward because I think that it's it's getting to pretty dangerous territory and I know that we can make a difference this group and throughout history uh technologists Builders have made a huge impact on and our our history and and on privacy and Society so we know we can do it um and I really do hope that we' can just you know rally now and and push it over the finish line so the biggest takeaway is that we can win history has shown us that we just have to keep going so please join me in accelerating privacy that's all all I really have to say here I'm not sure how much time I have um maybe uh maybe one last question yeah sure um it's interesting that uh when you promote uh privacy Technologies uh usually you use many examples uh like a proton like Tor that will be labeled or coined as a web to Technologies while we are here uh in in the industry that wants to promote the next future that is also going like web free how you would connect those two worlds together in the sense of building a personal stack that will coexist in balance between traditional tools like web to tools uh open source tools uh or web free Innovative uh applications yeah so that's actually how I got started in doing what I do um I was probably one of the first people to create a channel about blockchain tech and and Bitcoin and I thought this was the end game because I thought if you can reclaim control of the money supply and separate money in States then you've won and we had this uncensorable tool that I thought that's all we needed as soon as we had uncensor ability in web 3 Tech then um it's it's game over cats out of the bag and I soon realized that there are two things that need to be uncensorable you need uncensor ability in protocol but you also need uncensor ability at the individual layer and I realized that if individuals did not know how to use the internet privately they were not uncensorable because as soon as a government chose to ban an uncensorable protocol if they knew that individuals were using it because they are surveiling everything they do on the internet it still makes it impossible to use this text so I realized how web three and privacy are completely related we need both I think that we're understanding more and more how centralized focal points targets um things like operation choke point 2.0 is really targeting everyone in the crypto space in this privacy space as well um so we're understanding that companies can be shut down we started to see a bunch of companies that have just decided to decentralize themselves because they realized that they can let this technology free they don't need companies to run them we have amazing things called DS now where you actually don't need brick and mortar stores you don't even need physical people that could be targeted so we have all these tools and I think together we win um we need web three and the Privacy aspect though we need them both and they need to work in in lock step because I just don't think that um that web three technology can survive current power structures if they decide to try to shut it down unless individuals continue to use this uncensor Tech uh privately and um without fear of repercussion thanks Naomi thanks for tuning in from the states uh thanks for dedicating your time in the evening uh super great that that's the beauty of the globalism I guess that we can connect with the wonderful people from around the world and uh we will move on to the next uh speaker and the next talk thanks so much for having me