Sony’s layer-2 network Soneium triggers outcry over censorship features

There is community backlash following the launch of Soneium, with critics labeling its limitations as anti-decentralization.

Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony is stepping into the blockchain spotlight with the launch of Soneium, its layer 2 solution built on the Ethereum network. Designed to “unlock new possibilities, increase fan engagement and harness the transformative potential of web3 technology,” Soneium promises a future where creators, fans and developers collaborate in a decentralized digital space, according to the company’s announcement. mainnet launch on January 14th.

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But not everyone believes it: crypto diehards are up in arms over the platform’s controversial approach to intellectual property protection.

What is Sonium

Soneium is Sony’s bold leap into the web3 space. Built on the Optimism Foundation’s OP Stack, the layer-2 blockchain aims to bridge the gap between web2 and web3 users. The platform integrates Sony’s NFT-based Fan Marketing Platform and Soneium Spark, initiatives designed to support creators and provide fans with unique experiences.

Soneium also leverages Sony’s entertainment divisions – Sony Pictures, Sony Music and Sony Music Publishing – bringing blockchain-based digital collectibles to fans as a gateway to exclusive content. The goal? To increase fan engagement and foster deeper connections between creators and their audiences.

But Soneium is not just about fun and games. They are tools to protect intellectual property and promise fair profit sharing, with the aim of awakening digital creativity. Still, some in the crypto crowd are outraged, accusing the developers of attracting investors with censorship features.

Community response

The launch was not without problems. While some celebrated the launch of Soneium, others expressed concerns about the approach to restricting certain blockchain activities. Co-founder of defi creator studio Pink Brains Ignas noted in an X post that all “current enterprise L2s fall short and will likely never join Ethereum because their incentive structures differ.”

The response follows Soneium’s policy of blacklisting addresses associated with IP violations or malicious actions. While intended to protect creators, it has sparked debates about decentralization and fairness in web3, which is widely seen as a space built on openness, user autonomy, and resistance to centralized control.

How Soneium’s censorship features work

Soneium has a system in place to address unauthorized IP use and potentially harmful activities. When a violation is suspected, the platform adds the offending contract address to a “Suspected IP Infringement” list, according to the network’s documentation. The entry triggers a warning period, allowing developers to fix issues without experiencing restrictions.

If the issues are not resolved, the contract will be placed on a restricted list. That means limited activities, such as cutting off public RPC access and even making it invisible in tools like Block Explorer. However, Soneium emphasizes that these actions are reversible. However, once improvements are made, the status of the contract may be “reassessed,” the developers say, adding that labels “may be updated or removed after a thorough review.”

Sonéium’s answer

The team at Soneium has defended its policies, emphasizing their commitment to decentralization while protecting creators. Following the community’s backlash, developers took to

“Our documentation outlines how we protect IP rights and combat malicious activity – while keeping web3’s core values ​​of openness and innovation intact.”

Sonium

Crypto.news reached out to the Soneium team but did not hear back before publication. While Soneium CEO Sota Watanabe didn’t directly address the backlash, he did share in an X-post after the community said developers want to use the OP Stack to “protect creators’ rights from IP infringement. ”

Despite the censorship features, there are still ways to circumvent them.

As Gautham Santhosh, founder of the Ethereum-based derivatives network Polynomial, explained in an X post, Sony could try to censor at the RPC level. Still, they can’t stop users from pushing transactions through Ethereum’s main network. This is because OP Stack’s design “forces every l2 to inherit Ethereum’s security guarantees.”

While Soneium seems to be off to a somewhat rocky start, Sony’s attempt to combine blockchain with everyday life could still set a new standard in web3. Whether the network can deliver on its promise of a fairer, more connected digital world or remain just a niche network with limited impact remains to be seen.

Read more: Samsung joins forces with Sony to support blockchain incubator Soneium