What it is
PAC proves which cryptographic principal was present and accountable within a defined scope when something mattered.
PAC / Truth Stack
Presence & Accountability Core
Presence and accountability anchoring.
PAC proves which cryptographic principal was present and accountable within a defined scope when something mattered.
What problem it solves
Most systems know who authenticated or who had a role. They often cannot prove who must answer under hostile review years later.
What it does
- Binds cryptographic principals to explicit accountability scopes.
- Produces presence and accountability records that survive hostile scrutiny.
- Refuses when accountability cannot be established cleanly.
What it does not do
- It is not IAM, authentication, authorization, surveillance, or personhood resolution.
- It does not grant permissions or model friendly identity graphs.
- It does not substitute for KMS authority lineage or DEC enforcement.
Who it is for
- Institutions that expect retrospective scrutiny and need durable accountability anchors.
- Environments where responsibility must be explicit, bounded, and provable.
Where it fits
PAC completes the Truth Stack accountability surface. It binds scoped accountability without turning into identity management.
Typical deployment context
Used where proving who must answer is operationally and legally as important as proving what happened.
Primary source docs
- Why PACpac/docs/01_why_pac.md
- Architecturepac/docs/05_architecture.md
- Refusal doctrinepac/docs/03_refusal_doctrine.md