A verifiable scheme for differential privacy based on zero-knowledge proofs

Jianqi Wei, Yuling Chen, Xiuzhang Yang, Yun Luo, Xintao Pei

Abstract: The protection of personal privacy has become a paramount issue in the field of data science, with its significance continuously rising. Differential privacy technology has garnered significant attention for its effectiveness in preserving individual privacy. However, the implementation of differential privacy relies on a degree of trust in the entities or individuals executing the algorithms. This paper proposes an innovative solution: a verifiable differential privacy mechanism based on zero-knowledge proofs. This approach integrates differential privacy with zero-knowledge proof technology to not only verify the correctness of the differential privacy techniques but also enhance the transparency and reliability of the algorithms. Additionally, we have designed a publicly verifiable data release scheme that integrates commitment mechanisms and range proofs, ensuring that the range of published data noise does not exceed predetermined thresholds, thereby ensuring the utility of the data. Compared to other verifiable differential privacy solutions, our approach is unique in that it does not rely on the number of participants but is solely dependent on the precision of the data. This means that our computational cost will not increase with the addition of more participants. Finally, we conducted a performance evaluation of the solution, which only took 700ms to complete a single verification. On average, there was a 6% reduction in expectation and a 40% reduction in variance, demonstrating the enhancement of its data utility and the feasibility and effectiveness in practical applications.