Decentralized Social Media Platforms Aren’t New, They Just Aren’t Popular
But they might hold the key to address the problems of Big Tech
We are well aware of the role that technology giants have played in politics, social issues, and even on our mental health.
We understood how Facebook sold our data to Cambridge Analytica to influence voters, allowed Myanmar's army to spread propaganda and hate on its platform leading to the genocide of Rohingya Muslims, and did little to fact check fake news being peddled by various political parties across the world.
We also saw how Trump’s account suspension by Twitter rose a furor over “free speech” on the platform. Some may argue, it was justified in the light of increasing anti-government sentiment, it still raises some serious ethical questions about the power of social media — starting with if the decisions on moderation and take-downs should rest with only a few powerful individuals in the silicon valley? What is the cost of privacy? Why we don’t get any say in how our data is being utilized?
These are big questions and they need to be solved, but it’s not on the tech giants alone to resolve them. They are doomed either way — damned if you do and damned if you don’t — if Twitter would have allowed vicious campaigning to continue…
