Emmi Bevensee, of Rebellious Data, SMAT, and the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, has finished the second of Rebellious Data new Research Insights series of deep dives into the critical topics of our time. This report looks at how hate movements are decentralizing using emerging technologies in ways that make them harder to combat. These technologies ask us critical questions about the future of society and the internet but also pose incredible potential to help us along our way.

This was a real growing issue near the end of 2020 and there was a lot of worry that the technology intended for privacy and protection of those feeling marginalised, would in fact be taken over and abused by hate groups. I saw those hate groups making a presence on Aether P2P network, and the debate starting there, but also on Scuttlebutt and RetroShare.

What is different about P2P is that your network and what you see in your feed, consists of who you are linked to and following. So if your ‘community’ unfollows or blocks problem individuals, they disappear from view. It does not mean they are gone as they can exist in their own community, but a P2P network is not a centralised moderated service liker Twitter or Facebook, and it effectively protects everyone. It also cannot really be shut off as it only exists between individual peers without any central server (hosting) or country managing it.

If the report whets your appetite to try Scuttlebutt and venture down the rabbit hole, I’d suggest trying it via the Planetary mobile app, or Patchwork for desktops.

See https://rebelliousdata.com/p2p/#more-2630

#technology #P2P #SSB #socialnetworks #decentralised