Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech

This article proposes an entirely different approach—one that might seem counterintuitive but might actually provide for a workable plan that enables more free speech, while minimizing the impact of trolling, hateful speech, and large-scale disinformation efforts. As a bonus, it also might help the users of these platforms regain control of their p... See more

Moving to a world where protocols and not proprietary platforms dominate would solve many issues currently facing the internet today. Rather than relying on a few giant platforms to police speech online, there could be widespread competition, in which anyone could design their own interfaces, filters, and additional services, allowing whichever one... See more

Moving to protocols, not platforms, is an approach for free speech in the twenty-first century. Rather than relying on a “marketplace of ideas” within an individual platform—which can be hijacked by those with malicious intent—protocols could lead to a marketplace of ideals, where competition occurs to provide better services that minimize the impa... See more

Perhaps most interestingly, there are some potential new opportunities by which protocols might actually be much more sustainable. In the last few years, with the development of cryptocurrencies and tokens, it has become theoretically possible to build a protocol that uses a cryptocurrency or a token that has some value attached to it, with the val... See more

That approach: build protocols, not platforms.

The key to making this work is that while there would be specific protocols for the various types of platforms we see today, there would then be many competing interface implementations of that protocol. The competition would come from those implementations. The lowered switching costs of moving from one implementation to another would create less ... See more

Second, continuing with what they are doing is going to be increasingly costly. Already Facebook recently promised to hire another ten thousand moderators; YouTube has also promised to hire “thousands” of moderators. Hiring all those people is going to be an increasing cost on these companies as well. Switching to a protocols-based system would mov... See more

After a decade or so of the general sentiment being in favor of the internet and social media as a way to enable more speech and improve the marketplace of ideas, in the last few years the view has shifted dramatically—now it seems that almost no one is happy. Some feel that these platforms have become cesspools of trolling, bigotry, and hatred... ... See more

One of the main reasons that protocols from the early internet have faded in comparison to centralized platforms is the business model issue. Having your own platform (if it catches on) has been a model that appears to print lots of money for the companies. However, building and maintaining a protocol has long been a struggle.