Molly White is an independent technology researcher and writer who publishes Citation Needed. A former professional software engineer, she has edited Wikipedia as GorillaWarfare and has been an administrator and Arbitration Committee member. She runs Web3 Is Going Just Great and Follow the Crypto, which tracks cryptocurrency industry spending in U.S. elections. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian and Rolling Stone.
DI has documented statements by Molly White on Arts and Culture, Consumer Protection, and Cryptocurrency, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: Independent writer and cryptocurrency researcher
Condemned
Statement summary
White questions why Zhao, whom she describes as barred from any control over Binance, is the one promising that losses will be covered.
“Why a person who is barred from any control over Binance would be the one promising this is an exercise I will leave to the reader.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)North Korea gets away with $3 billion from Binance · Molly WhiteZhao assurance quotations and the paragraph questioning his role
Why we used this label
Relative to the assurances that users would be covered, White criticizes Zhao for giving them, pointing to what she describes as a bar on his control of Binance.
White argues that a library that buys a book should be able to lend it and that readers should be able to read without third parties watching them. She criticizes the Second Circuit's ruling against the Internet Archive's lending program.
“When a library buys a book, they should be able to lend it.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Molly White argues that libraries should be able to lend books they buyOpening statement of principles and analysis of controlled digital lending
Why we used this label
The reference point is Internet Archive's unlicensed controlled digital lending. The speaker defends that practice and its public benefits.
Changpeng Zhao, who says he no longer manages Binance, said users would be covered after an October 2026 hack. Molly White questions his role. Binance later pledged to cover all losses and says it has set aside over $6.34 billion of company funds.
Internet Archive argued that owning a print book should permit controlled digital lending. Publishers said digital copies require permission. The appeals court rejected fair use in 2024, and Archive ended the litigation while continuing to advocate for library rights.
