A new initiative, Free Our Feeds, is aiming to liberate social media from corporate and billionaire influence. The project plans to raise $30 million over three years to develop a decentralized social media ecosystem built on Bluesky’s AT Protocol.
The funds will support the creation of a public interest foundation and an independent infrastructure that ensures developers, researchers, and users can access content and data without relying on corporate decisions.
Bluesky, originally a research project under former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, became independent in 2021 and developed the AT Protocol—an open-source, interoperable framework designed to reshape social networking. While Bluesky has seen success, Free Our Feeds argues that social infrastructure should not be controlled by private companies.
Sherif Elsayed-Ali, executive director at the Future of Technology Institute, emphasized the importance of safeguarding Bluesky’s technology from venture capital control. By doing so, the initiative hopes to create a sustainable, independent model for social media governance.
The project will be overseen by nine custodians, including the Mozilla Foundation’s Nabiha Syed and Mark Surman, who will guide its governance decisions.
Meanwhile, other decentralized platforms are also moving toward independence. On Monday, Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko announced his decision to transfer Mastodon’s ownership to a nonprofit organization, ensuring it remains free from individual control.
With Meta altering its content moderation policies and Elon Musk’s X undergoing radical changes, Free Our Feeds sees this as the perfect moment to redefine social media’s future—even if it takes time to achieve its vision.
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