The next generation of the web is coming quickly. This time, we have a chance to get it right.
Project Liberty invites you to join in building a more equitable civic architecture for the digital world.
Are you ready to create a web that works better for all?
Project Liberty is a visionary initiative to transform how the Internet works, who owns and controls personal data, and who benefits from the digital economy.
Technology to serve people, not platforms. The core of Project Liberty is a groundbreaking open-source protocol called the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) that will serve as a foundational layer of the next generation of the web. Version 1.0 of DSNP has been released, along with an initial set of developer resources. The protocol will be open to everyone, a design that shifts the control of personal data from companies to individuals and lays a foundation for people to benefit directly from the economic value of their data.
The McCourt Institute – launched with founding partners Sciences Po in Paris and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. – was established to ensure that digital governance is prioritized in the development of new technology. In addition to supporting research – including $50 million in grants to members of Sciences Po’s and Georgetown’s academic communities – the Institute will create opportunities for technologists to work with social scientists, ethicists, public policy and governance experts, and leaders from the public and private sectors on the development of new technology. Together, these interdisciplinary partners will create a framework for online activity and growth that focuses on technology for the common good.
The Institute’s European home is in Paris on Sciences Po’s campus, and ground has been broken on its U.S. location in Washington, D.C.
Project Liberty is actively engaging regulators, lawmakers, and administrators to help ensure that the technology underpinning how we live, learn, work, and connect reflects a shared commitment to democracy.
Unfinished Live invites leading experts and engaged citizens to contribute to shaping our digital future. A future where new technologies and policies enable a stronger democracy, a fairer economy, and a more just society. Join us this September to exchange ideas and shape solutions on this defining issue of our time.
THE SOCIAL GRAPH IS NOW OPEN FOR BUILDING.
We’re developing infrastructure that puts people at the center of an innovative, inclusive web economy.
The key to change lies in the power of combining our social networks in one unified social graph that is free from corporate control.
Developer tooling and an open market of web services help innovators across the globe create web apps with healthier, higher data standards built in.
A global, decentralized, open source social graph provides community-governed public infrastructure to connect our social networks while protecting individual data rights.
THE SOCIAL GRAPH IS NOW OPEN FOR BUILDING.
We’re developing infrastructure that puts people at the center of an innovative, inclusive web economy.
The key to change lies in the power of combining our social networks in one unified social graph that is free from corporate control.
A global, decentralized, open source social graph provides community-governed public infrastructure to connect our social networks while protecting individual data rights.
Developer tooling and an open market of web services help innovators across the globe create web apps with healthier, higher data standards built in.
We’re forming an institute to advance a healthier digital future
To support the values reflected in this new web model, the founders of Project Liberty are launching the McCourt Institute to advance technology that serves the common good. Members of the institute will undertake the challenging, interdisciplinary work of discovering how to design and build technology that supports our social fabric and a more equitable economy. Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and Sciences Po in Paris are the founding academic partners. The McCourt Institute’s research will span social science, economics, policy, and technology.
Better rules for a better web
Let’s center the web around people, not platforms.
For decades the web used by billions has been largely privatized—shaped and limited by a few leaders. It’s time to change that. Web innovation should be easier—allowing more voices, ideas, and perspectives to be heard and engaged in addressing complex problems and discovering new possibilities. The unified social graph provides a new landscape for innovation and collaboration that has never existed.
Today, when we generate or publish data with web apps, we surrender ownership and control. Our data—our relationships, interactions, and even our attention—is fuel to a surveillance economy that has become toxic to our social fabric. We believe that giving people ownership and control of their own data is the first step to break the cycle and shift the balance of power.
The most dominant web apps are designed to extract value from users, not share value with people. They stifle competition by locking the social graph into a walled, proprietary ecosystem. A healthier web model is based on an open architecture that continually welcomes innovation—and provides the infrastructure for value to flow more equitably to all participants.
Let’s build the future together
Project Liberty’s newsletters keep you on the frontlines of the people, protocols, and possibilities that are building a better tech future. Sign up to receive updates weekly.
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Let’s build the future together
Project Liberty’s newsletters keep you on the frontlines of the people, protocols, and possibilities that are building a better tech future. Sign up to receive updates weekly.
Cookies are for eating—not for tracking. We do not use tracking cookies, web beacons or third-party analytics on our site. Learn more about our privacy policy here.
We work to accelerate the world's transition to an open, inclusive data economy that puts citizens in control
