Comment: From Phil Mataras, Founder and CEO of AR.io
Data does not disappear into thin air. It is deleted, erased, buried—often intentionally.
Whenever a new government takes office, priorities are reordered. This is understandable, but the disappearance of credible data is unacceptable. Particularly in the United States, this phenomenon has emerged with alarming speed, alerting those who care about the truth.
From public health data to economic indicators, entire datasets are taken offline without announcement or explanation. Historical revisionism is happening in real time.
The fragility of digital memory
The internet was supposed to be a public ledger of knowledge for the benefit of society, but this ideal has not been realized; rather, it has become a digital illusion. It appears vast but is, in fact, fragile.
When websites disappear, archives close, or documents are quietly removed... without explanation. The centralization of information has become its greatest weakness.
Facts do not have an expiration date, but in the current system, they may be close to expiring. Think of World War II and the Holocaust—if we had today's tools back then, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
By 2021, independent news outlets like Hong Kong's Apple Daily were forced offline within hours, archives lost almost overnight. Hope lies in the blockchain backups of internet activists.
Today in Spain, we see the same problems. The internet is blocked without public discussion, with censorship packaged in decrees.
Protecting public data
Data deletion has become a silent, legalized process. This is a real threat, but there are also responses.
Non-profit projects like the Internet Archive have backed up billions of web pages. Blockchain data storage provides an alternative that is resistant to censorship and tampering.
Each deleted article and dataset weakens the public truth. Without data, the truth becomes subjective. When the truth is subjective, power speaks the last and loudest voice.
Data preservation is resistance
Protecting public data is no longer a technical challenge, but a responsibility. Everyone can save a backup, which is an act of safeguarding the truth.
When public memory is stored in systems that can be edited or deleted, what remains is not history, but a version written by the last power holders.
The choice we face is: continue deleting or fight for permanence and truth. Records must outlast the lifespan of regimes, and facts should transcend those who fear them.
Comment: From Phil Mataras, Founder and CEO of AR.io.
