Thus spake Jacob Bachmeyer (jcb62281@gmail.com):
Using China as contrast again, how about special tokens not available to
Uighurs? Once we implement one type of "identity attribute" in Taler, we
have no control over governments imposing more such attributes on Taler
exchanges in their jurisdictions. Not supporting this at all and standing
on the grounds of human rights and the great abuse potential of this feature
is, I believe, a more ethical solution. After all, if we could depend on
other people to be ethical, Tivoisation would not exist and we would
probably still be happily using GPLv2.
China doesn't need a feature in GNU Taler to taint money, it can do so
by deploying multiple currencies. And it can do it so with _existing_
GNU Taler, too, easily.
What the proposed extension for GNU Taler _can_ provide, however, is a
mechanism that protects at least a subset of privacy, such as anonymity
and unlikability, even in the case of an oppressive goverment using the
payment system in unethical ways. Adding such a mechanism - like
anoymous age-restriction - is the more ethical solution, IMO.
-- oec