Article
Social graph as a key to change
How can a change in ownership of the social graph unlock a more equitable web?
Project Liberty is a visionary initiative to transform how the Internet works, who owns and controls personal data, and who benefits from the digital economy.
TECHNOLOGY
Technology to serve people, not platforms. The core of Project Liberty is a groundbreaking open-source protocol called the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) that will serve as a foundational layer of the next generation of the web. Version 1.0 of DSNP has been released, along with an initial set of developer resources. The protocol will be open to everyone, a design that shifts the control of personal data from companies to individuals and lays a foundation for people to benefit directly from the economic value of their data.
This protocol creates the opportunity to reinvent the social network as a shared public resource, freeing technology that historically has been locked in proprietary, profit-seeking platforms. The protocol will be gifted to humanity and housed within an independent organization to protect its user-focused model from private control.
GOVERNANCE
Rules by the community, for the community. We’ve seen how difficult it is for laws and regulations to keep pace with innovation. That’s why we need to integrate safeguards and standards that reflect ethical values into the technology development process.
The McCourt Institute – launched with founding partners Sciences Po in Paris and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. – was established to ensure that digital governance is prioritized in the development of new technology. In addition to supporting research – including $50 million in grants to members of Sciences Po’s and Georgetown’s academic communities – the Institute will create opportunities for technologists to work with social scientists, ethicists, public policy and governance experts, and leaders from the public and private sectors on the development of new technology. Together, these interdisciplinary partners will create a framework for online activity and growth that focuses on technology for the common good.
The Institute’s European home is in Paris on Sciences Po’s campus, and ground has been broken on its U.S. location in Washington, D.C.
Policy
Engaging policymakers, advancing tech for the common good. It is crucial for public officials and policymakers to understand the tools, implications, and promise that decentralized technology and a new digital public architecture, embedded with ethical principles and effective governance, holds for democratic society.
Project Liberty is actively engaging regulators, lawmakers, and administrators to help ensure that the technology underpinning how we live, learn, work, and connect reflects a shared commitment to democracy.
MOVEMENT
A web that reflects the diversity of its users. To realize the transformative potential of Project Liberty, society must reject the deep and systemic failings of today’s internet and accept that regulation alone can’t fix problems this big. Instead, we must embrace the promise of a better, more inclusive future.
With the leadership and support of Unfinished – a rapidly growing network of partners in technology, academia, social impact, arts, and the public and private sectors – a new movement is gathering momentum with the goal of creating a thriving, multiracial democracy and fairer digital economy. With guidance and engagement from Unfinished, Project Liberty aims to drive public migration to a more equitable and inclusive web.
