Illegal content in the blockchain

[TheBitMan]

I'm pretty sure the police are busy with other things..you know like murders and stuff. The police don't even know what Bitcoins is..and they probably don't care.

[Desolator]

Hmmm, evil plan fail breakdown:

1. too many miners, MUST LOWER MINER COUNT!

2. think up stupid but seemingly clever plan to get miners to stop

3. implement plan on teh forumz, oh teh horrorz

4. FAIL to realize that most bitcoin miners are extremely smart.

PLAN FAIL!

[phillipsjk]

Aren't the vents for the circuits and perhaps the motor coils?

My guess: Air bearings

[johanatan]

How are you going to prove your own 'ignorance'?  Prove the non-existence of your knowledge.  Good luck with that.

Criminal justice: You're doing it wrong.

I don't recall criminal justice being one of my aims.

[max]

Has any of the developers commented on this issue? It sounds like this could potentially be a big problem that could criminalize every bitcoin user.

If I understand it correctly:
1. someone can store some illegal data into bitcoin (copyrighted content, child porn ...)
2. he lets everyone know what they are distributing/storing
3. if you continue to use bitcoin you can be charged for distributing/possessing illegal content

Could someone with more knowledge about this issue please add some info to:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses

[BitVapes]

Has any of the developers commented on this issue? It sounds like this could potentially be a big problem that could criminalize every bitcoin user.

If I understand it correctly:
1. someone can store some illegal data into bitcoin (copyrighted content, child porn ...)
2. he lets everyone know what they are distributing/storing
3. if you continue to use bitcoin you can be charged for distributing/possessing illegal content

Could someone with more knowledge about this issue please add some info to:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses

I don't agree that it is a weakness.  Webster's English Dictionary could be illegal encrypted content, if you have the right algorithm.  Any string of bits can be re-structured to be something its not by running it through the right hashing algo.   In this case the hashing algorithm itself that turns Webster's Dictionary into something else would be the illegal content, not Webster's Dictionary.


also,

LET THIS TROLL THREAD DIE

[wumpus]

Could someone with more knowledge about this issue please add some info to:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses

This is not a security weakness so should not be on that page.

[max]

I was under impression it is possible to embed completely custom text into the blockchain:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Incidents#ASCII_embedding_into_blockchain

Is this possible or not?

If it is what prevents someone from embedding illegal content?

[deepceleron]

However, aren't hard disks sealed to partial vacuum?.

I suppose there may exist some hard disks designed to operate in a partial vacuum, but those would not include cheap consumer disks. The top plate is too thin to hold a substantial vacuum. I have seen some disks with vent holes you are not supposed to cover.

Specifically the Western Digital WD1600AAJB. Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3,050m) (using WD1600AB specifications)

Hard drive heads float on an air cushion of laminar boundary flow above the spinning platter. While the drive is assembled in a meticulously clean environment (since the heads float closer to the disk surface than than the size of a smoke particle), there is a filtered vent hole so the drive can equalize pressure with the outside. This is why the drive listed above has a maximum operating altitude - with no air pressure, there is no air cushion, and the heads tear into the disk surface.

Since this isn't a hard drive thread, but rather an undying troll thread, I will point out that I can have a one-time pad that decrypts the block chain into kiddie porn. I suppose it would be up to you to decide if it is the block chain or the one-time pad that is the actual porn.

[Hawkix]

It happened, so it is definitely possible.

Embedding some really WRONG political, religious, porn etc. content into the blockchain forever might be real problem, IMHO.

This it the kind of "news" all journalist believe to understand and will spread it heavily. Do we need another bad impact on Bitcoin in news?

For most people, if they are told "there is child porn inside Bitcoin blockchain", they will get negative attitude against it. They will not care if the blockchain is normally not viewable nor that that "porn" is funny ASCII art made of dots and stars. Actually, in Canada, they might arrest you immediately ;-) http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=32958.

[wumpus]

If it is what prevents someone from embedding illegal content?

Nothing (read this thread, it might help)

[max]

How large can a continuous custom block of content that can be embedded in to the blockchain be?

[theymos]

Could someone with more knowledge about this issue please add some info to:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses

Added:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Illegal_content_in_the_block_chain

I think it will be a problem in the future, though probably not too severe.

[wumpus]

How large can a continuous custom block of content that can be embedded in to the blockchain be?

20 bytes, AFAIK (one address). You can embed larger blocks (up to 512?) using OP_NOP but I don't think those are accepted by the standard client at the moment.

See also the Len Sassaman ASCII art, it's width is 20:

http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=BUB3dygQ

[max]

Added:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Illegal_content_in_the_block_chain

I think it will be a problem in the future, though probably not too severe.

Theymos great entry. Thank you for providing so much useful info.

[theymos]

20 bytes, AFAIK (one address). You can embed larger blocks (up to 512?) using OP_NOP but I don't think those are accepted by the standard client at the moment.

You can have up to 520 bytes of contiguous data, and you can fill an entire block with data only slightly broken by opcodes. These transactions are accepted if they are received in a block -- they are just not relayed.

[Tasty Champa]

you know we could get bitcoin down to 2USD today, if we wanted too. xD

we could use this, and it would stay @ 2 for probably the duration of it's usage and existence.

[Mike Hearn]

This has been discussed quite a few times before, which may be why not many developers have commented.

Theymos' entry is incomplete, so I extended it. There's another situation in which it's safe to delete transaction data: if you can prove it'll never be used. The transactions that embedded flags, ASCII Bernanke etc could be deleted without risk because the chances of finding a private key that hashes to a line of English text is extremely remote. What's more, transactions with non-random looking hashes or pubkeys can be automatically identified.

Data can also be included in tx input scripts. However data blocks there don't have any effect on anything, ie, with the right database structure you can record the original hash of the transaction, then delete the unneeded data blocks if they have no effect on the connected output script.

If you encrypt the data before putting it into the block chain, the bad transactions probably can't be reliably identified. However they also shouldn't pose any legal threats to the miners. If the key is publically revealed, the same as above applies - the outputs can be removed without risk.

In short, this "attack" is unlikely to be anything more than an inconvenience. Judges would certainly frown on attempts to game the legal system like this, it'd just be a waste of court time, and might be considered entrapment.

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Why is everyone so freaked out about this?

How is it any different than UPS or the post office delivering heroin and cocaine to people through silk road? It's not the deliverer who gets arrested. It's the guy who introduces the shit, or the guy who receives the shit. I've been runnin my client for a few months straight now, and I've never seen a hint of kiddy porn pop-up on my screen from the blockchain and I'm sure as hell not going to look for it. As far as I know, it's not even there rendering me safe from any legal allegations.

[Opsamk]

OP is trying to overwhelm authorities so that the FBI will get off his ass.