Billionaire-proof open social media is now mission-critical infrastructure for the future of democracy.

@ntnsndr
The fediverse has nothing to be smug about so long as (parts of) it continue to collude with the Zuckerberg entity. That is the entryist project for an anti-democracy billionaire to control this network. Meta has been afforded deep access into the development process of ActivityPub, and the fedi as a whole has failed to contain and reject the threat. Until and unless that happens, the fediverse (as a distinct AP-based construct at least) will not be the vehicle to fulfill this mission

@ophiocephalic @ntnsndr The Fediverse is whatever you want it to be, open or closed. My instance has blocked all access to threads and even Bluesky. I like it that way.

@adrianmorales
Cheers to your blocking policy; and yes, there is a part of the fediverse standing against the threat!

@ntnsndr

Yeah, the Free Fediverse, anti-Meta FediPact, and instances with blocking policies like the ones @adrianmorales all have an explicit goal of being billionaire resistent.

And totally agree: with Meta having so much influence over the AP standard it's proof by example that any AP-centric construct is not billionaire-resistant.

.@ophiocephalic @ntnsndr

@thenexusofprivacy @adrianmorales @ophiocephalic @ntnsndr

What influence does Meta has over AP? Where can we check that?

You can track the SocialCG's public discussions at https://www.w3.org/wiki/SocialCG - it has links to the email list and meeting notes. Here's an example of somebody from a Meta-funded non-profit (who's got a major role in the discussions going forward) attempting to shut down criticisms of Meta on the email list. https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-swicg/2025Jan/0026.html

The SocialCG is currently in the process of coming up with a charter for a Working Group to create the next version of the ActivityPub spec. Things to look for: does Meta have a representative on the working group? (Since they're a dues-paying W3C member, they're entitled to one, so presumably the answer will be yes.). How many people from Meta-funded non-profits (or organizations that take funding from Meta or Meta-funded non-profits) will be in the group? What roles will they play, publicly and behind the scenes? How many people critical of Meta will be involved -- and what roles will they play?

@nemesis @adrianmorales @ophiocephalic @ntnsndr