The concept of blockchain has made its way into the municipal data access and transparency law of the city of Sao Paolo in Brazil.
While it has been referred to as a technology that can be used in the field, the definition does not include the structures and there is no mention of its future implementation.
Blockchain concept
Institutions all around the globe are embracing a greater number of applications of blockchain technology, which powers the crypto market.
More recently, it was the city of Sao Paolo in Brazil that added the concept of blockchain to a law that was passed.
It was added to the municipal data and transparency law because the technology can come in handy for performing a variety of tasks that can benefit the state.
The legislation in question defines blockchain as an immutable ledger that can be used for tracking assets and recording transactions via a computer network.
The law defines technology as a useful tool, but it should be noted that there is no mention of the different ways that it can be implemented for improving the efficiency of transparency-related tasks and data access.
The issues
Due to this lack of detail, some experts believe that the mention of blockchain in the law was nothing more than an accident because the document does not mention any implementation method, whatsoever.
An attorney for Machado Meyer, Marcelo Castro said that many institutions are recognizing the benefits that blockchain can bring to the economy.
But, he said that since now specific command has been mentioned regarding the use of the technology, then it opened up a big risk.
He added that there was a possibility that the technology could be misused because there is no mention of details in the law.
Incoming innovation
However, those who developed legislation were defensive of their approach because they said that it was a step forward in adding new technologies.
The author of the regulation, Maria De Carli, also defended the generic mention of the term blockchain in the law.
De Carli clarified that the law was not aimed at providing specific use cases for blockchain technology because these have to be discussed with the municipal executive branch.
A number of use cases of blockchain technology within the scope of the said law were highlighted by the author.
These included being used for the detection of corruption in public servers and also ensuring their compliance.
This is due to the fact that blockchain technology ensures that every transaction that is conducted can be viewed publicly.
Similar initiatives are also taking place on a national scale and not just in Sao Paolo. The Brazilian Development Bank also introduced the Brazilian Blockchain network back in May.
This is a blockchain project that has been designed to provide other public institutions the base for developing their own decentralized apps.
It would be helpful in ensuring that public function remains transparent and corruption can be minimized.
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