Free Our Feeds Initiative Strives for Social Media Liberty
In an era where the control of social platforms is under the scrutiny of a few billionaires, tech advocates and celebrities are rallying behind the "Free Our Feeds" initiative. This campaign is focused on combating the monopolistic hold by influential billionaires over social media. Aiming to accumulate $30 million over the next three years, the campaign plans to invest in building a resilient social media ecosystem driven by the AT Protocol, which also underpins Bluesky's decentralized network.
Funding and Objectives
The funds accumulated will facilitate the formation of a public interest foundation dedicated to the cause. This will catalyze the creation of an "independently hosted infrastructure," granting unfettered access to users, developers, and researchers to the data and content available, irrespective of future corporate decisions.
Technology and Independence
Despite these advancements, the underlying belief of "Free Our Feeds" is that social infrastructure cannot remain under the helm of privately owned social media entities perpetually.
"Bluesky's underlying technology, the AT Protocol, offers a prospective new route for the digital social landscape. Nonetheless, it remains venture-capital backed," stated Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia co-founder and supporter of Free Our Feeds. "This initiative intends to secure the underlying technology of Bluesky, steering it on an independent course, emancipating social media from the caprices of any singular entity or billionaire clusters."
Leadership and Governance
The stewardship of "Free Our Feeds" is entrusted to nine custodians, including Nabiha Syed and Mark Surman from the Mozilla Foundation, who will supervise the project's key governance decisions.
Trend of Decentralization
In line with this sentiment, Mastodon is also pivoting away from the solitary ownership paradigm seen in platforms like Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, and X, under Elon Musk. Recently, Eugen Rochko, CEO of Mastodon, disclosed his intent to shift the ownership of the decentralized network to a nonprofit entity, emphasizing that "Mastodon should not rest in the hands of a single proprietor."
Relevance and Timing
Recent modifications in content moderation by Meta, alongside the evolution of X under Musk's tutelage, highlight the necessity of the "Free Our Feeds" initiative. While the fruition of this project might take time, its inception is timely and crucial.