1 month ago
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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is trying to draw the line between protocol neutrality and personal expression, separating his right to openly criticize projects from any personal views because of the open nature of Ethereum.
The comments came after controversy surrounding his use of the term “corposlop” to describe what he views as trend-following products that prioritize corporate optimization over user empowerment.
What did Buterin actually say about censorship?
Buterin has been on a tangent of separating what he sees as unhealthy practices seeping into decentralized rollouts. This time, he attempted to distinguish between criticism and censorship. “If I say that your application is corposlop, I am not ‘censoring’ you,” he explained. “This has always been the flip side of the grand bargain of free speech: I am not free to shut you down, but I am free to criticize you, much as you are free to criticize me.”
The Ethereum co-founder emphasized that disagreement with him on any topic does not affect anyone’s ability to use the blockchain.
“You do not have to agree with me on which applications are and are not corposlop to use Ethereum. You do not have to agree with me on what trust assumptions are acceptable in which situations to use Ethereum,” Buterin wrote, adding that users also don’t need to share his views on political topics or even personal preferences like date formats or food opinions.
He mentioned that the “whole concept” of censorship resistance means users are free to ignore him, the Ethereum Foundation, or client developers entirely. Buterin also added that he does not represent the entire ecosystem, stating that Ethereum is a decentralized protocol and operates outside any individual’s ideology.
Why is Buterin pushing cack against “corposlop”?
Buterin has been quite vocal about what he calls “corposlop.”
Buterin argues that platforms now optimize for short-term engagement and revenue extraction rather than focus on long-term user benefits and genuine innovations.
Recent targets of his criticism include prediction markets that he believes are “over-converging to an unhealthy product market fit” by focusing on cryptocurrency price bets and sports betting rather than meaningful information discovery.
What’s the distinction between protocol and builder neutrality?
According to Buterin, decentralized protocols must remain neutral and permissionless at the code level; however, he argued that the individuals building upon them should have the courage to voice their cultural and political principles.
With this, Buterin believes Ethereum’s fundamental openness can be maintained while pushing for what he sees as better outcomes.
He directed his sharpest critique at the “modern world” and its tendency toward what he calls “pretend neutrality” in the corporate sphere, arguing that creators should not be afraid to voice their principles even though the underlying protocol remains open to all.
Buterin advocated for building a “metaverse” where specific principles are taken as a baseline, arguing that valuing concepts like freedom ultimately requires making technology choices that reflect those values.
He did, however, stress that this is just one potential application of Ethereum and that its design makes sure that no one vision can override or reject another.
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