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## Section I: Introduciton

The advent of digital technologies and the internet has led to significant changes in the way we live, work, and interact with each other. The digital realm is a complex and dynamic landscape that presents unique challenges in terms of privacy, security, and ownership. Existing legal frameworks are based on contract and property law, which are no longer sufficient to address the challenges posed by these new forms of digital assets, digital identity, and human rights.

This article explores the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding digital identity and digital assets in the virtual world and how they are evolving to keep pace with the rapid technological developments in the field. Specifically, we examine the limitations of existing contract and property law in protecting individuals' digital lives, the risks of enclosure by media conglomerates, platform service providers, and other large corporations to human rights, freedom, creativity, and innovation. We also explore how agency law, a tool for protecting individual rights, could be applied in the digital age to address some of the limitations of property law.

Wyoming has emerged as a leader in this area, passing two key pieces of legislation: the Wyoming Digital Identity Protection Act of 2022[^2022-HB0070] and the Disclosure of Private Cryptographic Keys Act [^2023-HB0086] in 2023. These laws provide a framework for the protection of human rights, freedom, creativity, and innovation in the digital realm. The Wyoming Digital Identity Act recognizes digital identity as a form of agency and sets a clear legal basis for the creation and control of digital identities, and the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act recognizes the importance of private keys as a means of controlling digital assets.

We also explore the significance of private keys in securing digital assets and identity, as well as the potential of blockchain-based technologies to create more equitable and transparent models for fair and equitable compensation for efforts, and as another protect against enclosure by corporations and other powerful entities.

While the Wyoming laws are a promising start, there are still many challenges and future directions to be explored. We call for continued work to address privacy challenges and promoting fairness online, and the need for financial support for advocacy efforts by Blockchain Commons to promote and support these efforts. By doing so, we can create a just and equitable future for all in the digital age.

## II. The Challenge of Property Law

### A. Challenges posed by existing contract and property law in protecting individuals

As technology advances, the traditional legal frameworks designed to protect property and contracts are not always able to keep pace with the changes.

Existing property and contract law are designed for the physical world and do not fully address the challenges of the digital realm. The laws governing physical property are well established, with tangible assets being defined by boundaries, which make them easier to protect. However, in the digital world, boundaries and assets are not always tangible, which makes it difficult to apply traditional property law.

In the digital world, property rights often involve intellectual property, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks, which are more abstract than physical property and can be difficult to define and protect. Additionally, contracts in the digital world can be complicated by issues like jurisdiction, digital rights management, and the ability to enforce contractual agreements across borders.

Furthermore, while property and contract law in the physical world generally prioritize the interests of individuals and communities, existing digital property and contract law prioritize the interests of media conglomerates, platform service providers, and other large corporations that control the virtual world's public commons and virtual artifacts.

### B. Risks of Enclosure by Large Corporations to Human Rights, Freedom, Creativity, and Innovation

The concept of enclosure dates back to the 15th century when feudal lords forced peasants off the land. Enclosure involves taking something that was previously held in common and making it private, which historically resulted in the exclusion and impoverishment of people who relied on common lands and resources for their subsistence. Enclosure also led to the suppression of dissent and the violation of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

In our digital age, the concentration of power in the hands of a small number of media conglomerates and online platform providers has led to the privatization of information and content, control of access to information, and thus creates significant risks to human rights, freedom, creativity, and innovation.

Large corporations, particularly media conglomerates and online platform providers, control vast amounts of digital assets. They use intellectual property laws not only to restrict access to information but also to position themselves between creators and content consumers in ways that allow them to extract far more than their fair share of value. These corporations engage in what is known as "chokepoint capitalism," in which they use their market power to rig markets and place unfair constraints on creators, limit access to consumers, all while extracting maximum profits from both for themselves.

Online platform providers use their control over intellectual property rights to control access to information and content on their platforms. They may block or limit access to certain types of content or websites that they view as objectionable or that they do not want to promote, while promoting other content or websites that align with their interests or business models.

Another example, social media platforms restricting the distribution of certain types of content can limit access to information and ideas, having a chilling effect on free speech and the free flow of ideas, which is fundamental to innovation and creativity.

This results in a situation where the commons of the internet, once seen as a space of openness and sharing, is becoming increasingly privatized and controlled by a small number of powerful companies.

This power imbalance caused by enclosure by large corporations poses a significant risk to human rights, freedom, creativity, and innovation. The issue needs to be addressed with a strong focus on protecting individual rights and promoting fair compensation.

### C: Limitations of Applying Property Law to Digital Identity

Property law is also insufficient in protecting individuals in the digital age. This is particularly true when it comes to digital identity, as the current legal frameworks for personal data do not consider constitutional or human rights laws beyond that of property law.

In the digital world, people's digital identity is increasingly tied to an accumulation of data points that become a proxy for expressions of their identity. However, applying the property law model to digital identity risks extending the broken ad tech model of the internet to all other facets of digital identity and digital lives expressed through data.

Property law confers a bundle of rights including possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, and disposition. Legal ownership of property requires evidence in the form of a deed, and proof of ownership requires backing from the state or other sovereign. Conversely, human rights attach to individuals independently and are inalienable and cannot be surrendered, transferred, or sold.

While intellectual property laws may provide some protection for digital assets, they are not suitable for protecting digital identity. Constitutional and international human rights laws protect the individual's right to privacy and family life, as well as their home and correspondence. This demonstrates that sometimes personal data crosses the threshold from the realm of property law to constitutional or human rights law.

Therefore, applying the correct legal framework is critical to protecting privacy and ensuring proportional safeguards for digital identity. It is essential for legal frameworks and technology architectures to support and reflect the basic social compact, not silently erode and replace it. This involves considering constitutional or human rights laws in addition to property law when determining legal frameworks for digital identity.

## III. The Importance of Agency Law

### A. Historical context of agency law and law of custom

The concept of agency law has its roots in ancient legal systems where merchants would use agents to trade goods on their behalf. This relationship between the principal (the merchant) and the agent (the person trading the goods) created a legal framework in which the principal retained ultimate control over the agent's actions. Over time, this legal framework became known as agency law, which today refers to the legal relationship between two parties in which one party (the agent) acts on behalf of the other party (the principal).

In addition to agency law, the law of custom is another legal framework that has been used for centuries to resolve disputes and provide guidelines for legal behavior. The law of custom is a set of unwritten laws and norms that have been developed over time through the actions of people in a particular society.

### B. Agency law as a tool to protect individuals in the digital age

In the digital age, agency law has become an important tool for protecting the rights of individuals against powerful corporations. Unlike property law, which prioritizes the interests of organizations, agency law is more nuanced and recognizes the importance of balancing the rights of individuals against the interests of corporations.

Agency law recognizes that the agent is acting on behalf of the principal and has a fiduciary duty to act in the principal's best interests. This creates a legal obligation on the part of the agent to act in good faith and to exercise reasonable care in their actions.

### C. Agency law to balance individual rights against corporate interests

Existing legal structures based on contract and property law have limitations in protecting the rights of individuals in the digital realm. Property law, in particular, often prioritizes the interests of large corporations and media conglomerates, making it difficult for individuals to negotiate fair and equitable contracts. This has led to a situation where many people are forced to relinquish control over their digital identity and intellectual property in exchange for limited compensation.

In contrast, agency law offers a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between individuals and their digital assets and identity online. It recognizes the importance of individual control and the fiduciary duty of corporations to act in their best interests.

### D. Wyoming Digital Identity law recognizing Principal Authority under Agency law

The Wyoming Digital Identity Act of 2022 recognizes the importance of agency law in protecting individuals in the digital realm. The law defines digital identity as "the intangible digital representation of, by and for a person, over which he has principal authority and through which he intentionally communicates or acts." This definition establishes the legal basis for individuals to have control over their digital identities, while also recognizing the importance of agency law in creating a fiduciary duty on the part of corporations to act in the best interests of the individuals they serve.

### E. Opportunity uses for Law of Custom

There is a long-time Wyoming proverb that “good fences make good neighbors”. This is based on the idea that individuals have a responsibility to respect each other’s boundaries and to protect each other’s privacy.

This principle could be applied to the development of Laws of Custom in Wyoming to establish social norms and expectations around how personal information is shared and used in different digital contexts.

Laws of Custom provide a more personalized and tailored approach to protecting privacy and authority by reflecting the specific needs and values of society and ensuring that they are respected and protected, which in turn helps individuals feel more comfortable and secure.

This is particularly useful in cases where the legal framework for protecting privacy rights and authority is not well-developed, as is often the case with rapidly advancing technologies and business practices.

## IV. The Significance of Private Keys for Control

### A. Role of private keys in securing digital assets and identity

One of the most important tools for human rights in the digital realm is the securing the use of private keys in public-key technologies. Private keys are critical to securing digital assets and identity, and they provide individuals with the ability to control their own digital lives. Private keys are essentially long strings of characters that are used to sign transactions and verify identity in public-key cryptography.

### B. Self-sovereignty

The concept of self-sovereignty is based on the idea that individuals should have control over their own digital identity, and that they should be able to manage their personal data and digital assets without the need for intermediaries or central authorities. This means that individuals have the ability to decide who can access their personal data, when and how it can be used, and for what purposes.

### C. The importance of recognizing private keys as a tool for self-sovereign control of digital identity and digital assets

By recognizing the importance of private keys, individuals can have greater control over their digital identity and assets. This is particularly important in the context of the virtual world, where the risk of unauthorized access, theft, or misuse of personal data is significant. Private keys provide individuals with a means of securing their digital identity and assets, and they also provide a mechanism for individuals to manage their personal data in a self-sovereign way.

### D. Wyoming's new law recognizing private keys as a means of control and its special protections

Wyoming has recently passed a new law, the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act, that recognizes the legal significance of private keys as a means of controlling digital assets. This law recognizes that control of private keys represents a focal point of control by individuals over their digital assets in the virtual world, and as such, those keys need special protection by the state.

This law establishes a clear legal framework for the proper care and disclosure of private keys in legal proceedings, while also providing protections to prevent the misuse or mishandling of private keys. In addition, by recognizing private keys are a form of agency, the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act offers a possible precedent to support that individuals should have control and protection in the virtual world under agency law, not just property law.

## V. Supporting Human Rights and Innovation

The digital age presents a range of challenges to traditional legal and regulatory frameworks, which are often ill-equipped to address the unique issues raised by digital assets, digital identity, and human rights online. However, by recognizing the importance of agency law and providing special protections for private keys, we can begin to create a foundation for protecting human rights, freedom, creativity, and innovation in the digital realm.

### A. The need to improve legal foundation to protect individuals' digital lives and intellectual commons

The limitations of property law, and the risks posed by enclosure by media conglomerates, platform service providers, and other large corporations, highlight the need for new legal frameworks that are more equitable and that prioritize the rights of individuals. Agency law offers a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between individuals and their digital assets and identity online, and can be leveraged as a legal precedent to provide greater protection for individual rights online.

### B. Potential of blockchain-based technologies for fair and equitable compensation and protection

Blockchain-based technologies offer a promising path towards a more equitable and transparent digital future. By enabling the creation of self-sovereign digital identities and decentralized, blockchain-based models for content creation and distribution, these technologies can promote fair compensation for creators and ensure that their rights are protected against infringement by corporations and other entities.

### C. Wyoming's new laws as a starting point

The recent passage of the Wyoming Digital Identity Act and the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act represent important steps forward in establishing legal frameworks that support the protection of individual rights in the digital world. However, more work is needed to raise awareness of these laws, ensure that they are properly enforced, and to address the broader social and economic implications of the digital age.

### D. Work to address privacy challenges and promote fairness online

To fully protect the rights of individuals in the digital age, it is necessary to address a range of challenges related to privacy, security, and fairness online. This requires a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach that involves experts from a range of fields, including law, economics, computer science, and social science.

### E. Call for financial support for advocacy efforts by Blockchain Commons

Advocacy organizations like the Blockchain Commons play a critical role in promoting and supporting the development of new legal and regulatory frameworks that protect the rights of individuals in the digital age. Financial support for these efforts is essential to ensuring that they are successful in creating a more just and equitable digital future.

## Conclusion

By recognizing the importance of agency law, providing special protections for private keys, and promoting the development of decentralized, blockchain-based models for content creation and distribution, we can begin to create a foundation for protecting human rights, freedom, creativity, and innovation in the digital realm. This foundation will help to ensure that individuals have greater control over their digital lives, and that big corporations are held accountable for their actions to be more fair and equitable in the online world. It will also provide a basis for the development of new technologies and innovations that support the intellectual commons for us all.

[^2022-HB0070]: [HB0070 - Digital identity protection - Legislation 2022 - Wyoming Goverment Legislation Website](https://wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2022/HB0070)

[^2023-HB0086][HB0070 - Digital identity protection. - Legislation 2023 - Wyoming Goverment Legislation Website](https://wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2023/HB0086)

========

# Legal Implications of Wyomings Private Key Disclosure Bill and Digital Identity Law for Protection of Digital Rights Online

Abstract:
> This article explores the implications of the new Wyoming Private Key Disclosure and Digital Identity Laws, which together provide a framework for the protection of the rights of people online. These laws recognize private keys as an essential means of control in the virtual world and establish a precedent for people to assert greater control over their human rights online, their digital identity, and their digital assets. However, challenges remain in negotiating equitable contracts and protecting people's rights, in particular content creators' rights against more powerful entities. Decentralized, blockchain-based technologies offer a path towards a more equitable and transparent digital future.

## Introduction

The emergence of blockchain technology has given rise to a new era of digital assets and identity, which has changed the way we think about property and ownership in the digital world. The traditional online legal framework used online are based on contract and property law, and are no longer sufficient to address the unique challenges posed by these new forms of digital assets, digital identity, and human rights.

In this article, we examine the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding people and the virtual world, and explore how they are evolving to keep pace with the rapid technological developments in the field.

We also explore the importance of agency law as a tool for protecting the rights of individuals in the digital age, particularly in the context of the recent Wyoming Digital Identity Law of 2022 and Private Key Disclosure Bill of 2203. We argue that agency law offers a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between individuals and their digital assets and idenity online, and these can be leveraged as a legal precedent to provide greater protection for individual' human rights online, ther digital identity and control of their digital assets.

Furthermore, we examine the potential of blockchain-based technologies to create more equitable and transparent models for fair and equitable compensation for their efforts, and that their rights are protected against infringement by corporations and other powerful entities.

By analyzing the current legal and regulatory frameworks, the new importance of agency law, and the potential of blockchain-based technologies, we aim to provide insights and recommendations to lawmakers, legal scholars, and practitioners for building a legal system that fully recognizes and protects the rights of individuals in the digital age.

## Part I: Agency Law and the Wyoming Digital Identity & Private Key Disclosure Laws

Agency law is the area of law that deals with the relationship between two parties: a principal and an agent. In this relationship, the agent acts on behalf of the principal, with the principal retaining ultimate control over the agent's actions. Under agency law, an agent is granted authority by a principal to act on their behalf and is obligated to act in their best interests. This creates a fiduciary duty on the part of the agent to act in good faith and to exercise reasonable care in their actions.

Unfortuantely existing Contract and Property Law currently fail to offer adequate protection for indviduals for these rights. Existing legal structures either prioritize the interests of large corporations and media conglomerates, or make it difficult for the individual to negotiate fair and equitable contracts. This has led to a situation where many are forced to relinquish control over their digital identity and intellectual property in exchange for limited compensation. Without legal protections that specifically address these challenges, the rights of individuals to control their digital identity and assets are at risk of being eroded.

In the digital age, the need to leverage of agency law has become increasingly apparent. As more individuals and businesses rely on digital identity and digital assets, it is necessary for us to establish clear legal frameworks that recognize the relationship of people and their control of their digital identity and assets online, and the role and responsiblities of intermediaries who should holding them for their benefit.

Wyoming has emerged as a leader in this area, passing two key pieces of legislation: the Wyoming Digital Identity Act of 2022 and the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act of 2023. These laws have established a new legal framework that recognizes the unique nature of digital assets and the role of private keys in controlling those assets.

The Wyoming Digital Identity Act, which was passed in 2022, establishes a legal framework for the creation and use of digital identities. The law defines digital identity as "the intangible digital representation of, by and for a person, over which he has principal authority and through which he intentionally communicates or acts.". This and provides a clear legal basis for the creation and control digital identities, but also does so under the framework of "principal authority" under Agency Law.

The Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act, which was passed in 2023, recognizes the legal significance of private keys as a means of controlling digital assets. This law recognizes that control of private keys represents a focal point of control by individuals over their digital assets in the virtual world, and as such, those keys need special protection by the state.

This law establishes a clear legal framework for the proper care and disclosure of private keys in legal proceedings, while also providing protections to prevent the misuse or mishandling of private keys. In addition, by recognizing private keys are a form of agency, the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act offers a possible precedent to supports that individuals should have control and protection in the virtual world under agency law, not just property law.

Together, the Wyoming Digital Identity Act and the Wyoming Private Key Disclosure Act provide a new legal framework to establish legal principles around the use of private keys as a form of agency and delegation under gency law. By doing this, Wyoming is leading the way in creating a more just and equitable digital world.

Part III: Challenges and Future Directions

The Wyoming Digital Identity and Private Key Disclosure laws represent significant steps towards establishing legal frameworks that support the protection of individual rights in the digital world. However, there are still significant challenges that must be addressed to ensure that these laws are effective in practice.

One major challenge is the need to build awareness and understanding of these laws among the general public, as well as among legal practitioners and lawmakers. Many people remain unaware of the potential benefits of using public-private key technology to secure their digital assets, or of the legal protections that are now available to them in Wyoming under agency law.

Another challenge is the need to ensure that the laws are properly enforced. This requires a range of institutional, regulatory, and technical solutions, such as the development of effective dispute resolution mechanisms, the establishment of new regulatory bodies, and the adoption of new technical standards and protocols.

A further challenge is the need to address the broader social and economic implications of the digital age. The emergence of new technologies has disrupted traditional business models and has created new opportunities for individuals and organizations to access and control data. However, it has also led to the concentration of power in the hands of a small number of large corporations, which can use their market dominance to suppress competition and to infringe on individual rights.

To address these challenges, there is a need for a range of legal, social, and technical solutions that work together to support the rights of individuals in the digital world. These solutions should be grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the legal and social implications of the digital age, and should be developed through a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach that involves experts from a range of fields, including law, economics, computer science, and social science.

One promising approach is the use of decentralized, blockchain-based technologies to create new models for digital identity, digital assets, content creation and distribution that are more equitable and transparent. For instance, using blockchain technologies, creators can create digital assets that are easily transferable, traceable, and secure, and that can be traded and monetized directly without the need for intermediaries, ensure that creators receive fair compensation for their work, and that their rights are protected against infringement by corporations and other entities.

Furthermore, blockchain-based technologies can also enable the creation of self-sovereign digital identities to help protect digital human rights from more powerful actors and adversaries.

Conclusion

The Wyoming Digital Identity and Private Key Disclosure laws are a significant development in the legal landscape of the virtual world. These laws recognize the importance of digital identity and private keys in protecting the rights of people in the virtual world and establish a legal framework to protect those rights.

In particular, the laws recognize the fiduciary duty of corporations in favor of all the people they serve, and the need for disclosure and proper handling of private keys in legal proceedings.

The laws also set a precedent for the use of agency law in protecting the rights of individuals in the virtual world. These offers a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between a person and their digital identity and digital assets to provide a potential solution to the challenges not addressed by property law in the virtual world.

While the Wyoming laws are a promising start, there are still many challenges and future directions to be explored. For example, the issue of negotiating fair and equitable contracts with large corporations that control the virtual world's public commons and virtual artifacts remains a challenge.

Moreover, blockchain-based technologies and self-sovereign digital identities offer new opportunities to protect the rights of people in the virtual world. However, more research is needed to fully understand how these technologies can be used to promote fair compensation and protect the freedoms of people in the virtual world.

In the future, it will be important for legal scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to continue to engage with these issues and work towards building a legal system that fully recognizes and protects the rights of peoiple in the virtual world. By doing so, we can create a just and equitable future for all in the digital age.