Judicial evidence collection is one of the practical application scenarios of blockchain. Many people might wonder: what does blockchain have to do with judicial evidence collection? The two seem completely unrelated. However, blockchain technology can address the issue of evidence authenticity in judicial processes.

We all know that evidence collection is a critical part of judicial trials, and the validity of evidence is primarily evaluated based on three elements: authenticity, relevance, and legality. Among these, authenticity is the most crucial. But here’s the problem: in today’s world of rampant advanced technology, how can we prove the authenticity of evidence?

For example, photos can be altered using editing software, and audio recordings can be forged through sound manipulation. As a result, evidence painstakingly obtained during court proceedings might be dismissed due to a single challenge from a lawyer. Thus, the biggest challenge in proving the validity of evidence is demonstrating that it has not been tampered with beforehand.

And isn’t immutability one of the key features of blockchain? At its core, blockchain is a distributed, decentralized database. Once data is recorded on the chain, it is backed up by every node on the network. To modify this data, one would need to compromise over 50% of the nodes in the entire network, making the data extremely difficult to alter. This perfectly solves the problem of ensuring the immutability of evidence.

However, this alone doesn’t fully prove the evidence is valid. While blockchain technology can ensure that evidence remains untampered during storage, it cannot guarantee the authenticity of the evidence itself.

To address this, local governments have introduced blockchain-based evidence collection apps. Users can perform evidence collection activities such as recording audio, video, or taking photos directly within these apps. The evidence is generated through the platform and transmitted to the blockchain for backup. Once uploaded, the file is encrypted using blockchain’s cryptographic algorithms. Anyone can then verify the file on the blockchain platform to confirm whether it has been tampered with. This prevents anyone from fabricating evidence during the collection process, solving the problem of evidence authenticity at its source.

Currently, China’s Supreme People’s Court, in its regulations concerning internet courts, has recognized blockchain as a technological means for evidence collection, preservation, and tamper-proofing, establishing the legality of blockchain-based evidence storage. Additionally, regions like Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou have launched related blockchain evidence collection platforms, improving the efficiency of evidence preservation for law enforcement personnel. It is believed that as blockchain technology is further applied in the judicial field, it will bring about a fairer and more just new internet world.