FAQ
Common questions.
Quick answers to questions that come up often. For deeper technical detail, see the spec.
01
Is Alethea blockchain-mandatory?
The registry MUST be on a public, tamper-proof, censorship-resistant ledger. Today blockchain is the only widely-deployed option meeting these properties. The protocol is chain-agnostic (Polygon, Base, Ethereum, Solana) and could in principle use any registry meeting the eligibility criteria.
02
Does signing cost money?
Yes, an on-chain write costs gas. On Polygon or Base today, a single signature costs around $0.001 to $0.01. Reference wallets batch signatures and pre-fund accounts so signers do not handle crypto directly. The marginal cost for end users is intended to be near-zero.
03
What about offline content (print, broadcast TV)?
The protocol works on content with a digital trace at some point in its lifecycle. Once content circulates purely offline, the link to its signature can be lost. Verifiers operating on offline-captured material (rephotographed, re-recorded) SHOULD re-fingerprint and query the registry; recovery depends on fingerprint quality and modification severity.
04
What if the identity provider is compromised?
See Security Considerations §10.3. The protocol defers to upstream KYC, eIDAS and NIST providers. If a provider is breached, identity claims can be forged at the source. Verifiers SHOULD treat signatures from providers with revoked or compromised status as suspect, and the protocol does not re-verify the provider chain of trust.
05
Can a signature be revoked?
Yes. A signer, or the identity provider in case of key theft, can issue a revocation record on-chain. Verifiers MUST check revocation status at verification time. Revocation does not delete the original signature; it adds context that the signature should no longer be trusted.
06
Is Alethea legally binding?
Alethea is a technical protocol, not a legal framework. Whether an Alethea signature carries legal weight depends on jurisdiction. In the EU, eIDAS substantial and high signatures already have legal recognition; an Alethea signature backed by an eIDAS provider inherits that recognition. In other jurisdictions, the protocol provides cryptographic evidence that may be admissible under local rules of evidence.
07
Why reject anonymous signing?
The whole point of Alethea is to bind a verified human identity to digital content. An anonymous signature provides no accountability; it is functionally equivalent to no signature for the protocol purpose. Anonymous signing is a functional flaw, not a feature.
Pseudonymous signing (a stable verified identity attached to a pseudonym) is acceptable if backed by a substantial-level KYC.
08
What's the relationship to C2PA?
C2PA documents technical provenance: which camera, which software produced this file. Alethea documents identity-bound responsibility: which verified human takes responsibility for this content. The two are complementary. An Alethea signature can be embedded in a C2PA manifest, and a verifier can consume both.
09
Can I sign content that was generated by AI?
Yes. The protocol does not care whether content is AI-generated or human-produced. It cares whether a verified human takes responsibility for publishing it. An AI-generated image signed by an author with the author role means: this person stands behind this image as theirs to publish, regardless of how it was produced.
10
Who controls the protocol?
Today, the project is stewarded by its founding contributors. The spec is published under CC-BY 4.0, reference implementations under AGPLv3. A neutral foundation is planned once the project reaches the scale where one is needed. See the governance page for anti-capture commitments.