Introduction to Free Our Feeds Campaign
In a time when social media giants like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are redefining the landscape, a coalition of international tech entrepreneurs and advocates is spearheading a movement to shield social media from billionaire dominance. This initiative, known as Free Our Feeds, seeks to safeguard Bluesky’s foundational technology, the AT Protocol, and utilize it to forge an open social media ecosystem beyond the control of any single entity, including Bluesky itself.
The Vision Behind Free Our Feeds
The overarching aim is to establish a public-interest foundation dedicated to funding the creation of new interoperable social networks powered by the AT Protocol. This would also involve developing independent infrastructure capable of supporting these platforms, even if Bluesky were to fall under billionaire influence. The campaign’s launch closely follows Meta’s controversial decision to scale back fact-checking and relax content moderation rules.
“If you think of our road network, if all the roads were owned by one or two billionaires, and they could tax anything, decide who’s allowed to go where, etc., then we would be in trouble,” Robin Berjon explained. “Digital infrastructure works in exactly the same way.”
Robin Berjon
The Power Dynamics in Social Media
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, remains under Mark Zuckerberg’s tight grip due to his super-voting shares. This makes it challenging for activist shareholders to enact change. Meanwhile, Bluesky has experienced a surge in users migrating from X (formerly Twitter) after Elon Musk utilized the platform for political endorsements.
Supporters and Strategic Goals
Free Our Feeds has garnered support from prominent figures such as actor Mark Ruffalo, director Alex Winter, writer Cory Doctorow, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and Mozilla Foundation president Mark Surman. As Robin Berjon, an independent technologist and one of the campaign’s nine custodians, noted, this initiative emerged from discussions among founding members about transforming social media and digital infrastructure.
Building a Resilient Social Media Ecosystem
Despite sharing core values with Bluesky, Free Our Feeds recognizes the potential vulnerability to venture capital pressures. They believe users deserve alternatives backed by independent infrastructure if Bluesky were ever controlled by billionaires. The team has been in communication with Bluesky and finds their decentralized network supportive of their mission to protect the AT protocol from billionaire influence.
- Free Our Feeds aims to raise $30 million over three years.
- An immediate goal of $4 million is set for hiring a small team and building independent infrastructure.
- The mission is to operate infrastructure ensuring the AT protocol remains open.
The Potential of the AT Protocol
Currently used primarily for building BlueSky, the AT Protocol holds promise for creating various types of social apps. “Using the same infrastructure, you could build an Instagram analog, a Facebook analog, a TikTok analog,” Berjon mentioned. The intention is not only to replicate existing platforms but also to innovate new applications without reinventing user accounts or storage systems.
Future Outlook
Free Our Feeds plans to establish its independent foundation by year’s end. Should fundraising efforts fall short, Berjon assures that any collected funds will be returned. This campaign represents a critical step towards democratizing digital infrastructures and ensuring they serve the public interest.
