- Experts discussed the growing centralization of Internet services at ACM CoNEXT-2024.
- Solutions for decentralization include user-owned identities and platform-independent DNS names.
What happened: Experts discuss challenges for decentralizing the web
The Decentralization of the Internet (DIN) workshop at ACM CoNEXT-2024 gathered network researchers, digital rights activists, and policy experts to explore the growing centralization of Internet services, infrastructure, and applications. Organized by the Internet Research Task Force’s (IRTF) Decentralization of the Internet Research Group (DINRG), the event featured keynotes from Cory Doctorow and Michael Karanicolas, who discussed issues like “enshittification” and governance challenges in decentralized platforms.
Technical paper sessions covered topics like the Bluesky AT protocol and user empowerment through platform-independent DNS names. An interactive panel with leading experts examined practical next steps for combating Internet centralization, emphasizing direct user-to-user communication, user-owned identities, and secure interactions. The workshop fostered collaboration among researchers across disciplines and set the stage for ongoing discussions at the IRTF DIN group.
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Why it is important
This workshop is crucial for advancing the conversation on Internet decentralization, which has far-reaching technical, economic, and social implications. As online services increasingly concentrate power in the hands of a few companies, concerns about data privacy, user autonomy, and platform monopolies grow.
The solutions discussed at the workshop aim to empower users, promote innovation, and re-establish open, user-centric Internet services. The insights gained here will inform future technologies and policies that could reduce the Internet’s dependency on centralized platforms, ensuring a more equitable and democratic online ecosystem.
Efforts to decentralize also directly address issues like censorship, privacy violations, and the commercial exploitation of user data.
