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About
Project Liberty

Frank McCourt headshot
Frank McCourt, Founder of Project Liberty

Project Liberty is stitching together an ecosystem of technologists, academics, policymakers and citizens committed to building a better internet—where the data is ours to manage, the platforms are ours to govern, and the power is ours to reclaim.

Three fundamental beliefs anchor our vision and form the foundation of Project Liberty’s work:

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Choice

When people have greater control over their individual experience online and expanded opportunities to manage their data, they can make informed decisions about everything from their privacy and safety to which spaces they choose to participate in. This is digital self-determination, and it is the fundamental principle of the web we deserve. It centers people, not platforms. It protects personal data, not corporate profits. It values freedom of movement across the web, not consolidation of power within any one platform. Self-determination online begins at the protocol level—the base infrastructure of the internet—which is why we’re developing new protocols like DSNP that give people agency over their digital experience and data.

Voice

When people can act as digital citizens entrusted to shape the governance of the spaces they log into everyday, they can create platforms and applications driven by societal value and transparency instead of corporate profits and black-box algorithms. This is digital citizenship, and it is the set of collective responsibilities undertaken by people who embody digital self-determination to build a digital civic architecture of spaces, platforms, tools, and practices that put into action the principles of openness, safety, privacy, accountability, transparency, and ownership.

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Stake

The platform-take-all business models of today’s internet are not equitable, long-term models. The economic value from big data and major network effects stem from the contributions, activity, and content of everyday people, and yet that value isn’t shared. An internet that resembles a representative democracy is an internet whose economic value is distributed fairly. This is digital ownership. It is the economic model compatible with a system of digital self-determination and digital citizenship. And yet, today we lack the models where people can participate in the economic upside of their data and online contributions. Innovation is needed, which is why Project Liberty is supporting the piloting and experimentation of new economic models for the future.

Team


Project Liberty Leadership

  • Frank McCourt headshot

    Frank McCourt

    Founder of Project Liberty

  • Tomicah Tillemann headshot

    Tomicah Tillemann

    President, Project Liberty; Interim CEO Project Liberty Institute

  • Paula Recart headshot

    Paula Recart

    Chief Impact Officer

  • Braxton Woodham headshot

    Braxton Woodham

    Co-creator of DSNP

Project Liberty Team

  • Scott Bendar headshot

    Scott Bendar

    Head of Software Development

  • Denise Duncan headshot

    Denise Duncan

    Head of Program Management

  • Kila Englebrook headshot

    Kila Englebrook

    Head of Operations

  • Harry Evans headshot

    Harry Evans

    CTO and Co-creator of DSNP

  • Lara Galinsky headshot

    Lara Galinsky

    Head of Partnerships

  • Kenne Ives headshot

    Kenne Ives

    Head of Product

  • Chris Mitchel headshot

    Chris Mitchell

    General Counsel

  • Alex Poscente headshot

    Alex Poscente

    Chief of Staff

Advisors


Project Liberty Board of Stewards

  • Frank McCourt headshot

    Frank McCourt

    Founder of Project Liberty

  • Angela Glover Blackwell headshot

    Angela Glover Blackwell

    Founder in Residence, PolicyLink

  • Dr. John DeGioia headshot

    Dr. John DeGioia

    President, Georgetown University

  • Todd Golub, M.D. headshot

    Todd Golub, M.D.

    Director, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

  • Eric Liu headshot

    Eric Liu

    Co-Founder & CEO, Citizen University

  • Dorcas Muthoni headshot

    Dorcas Muthoni

    Founder, OPENWORLD LTD

  • Dr. Dava Newman headshot

    Dr. Dava Newman

    Director, MIT Media Lab

  • Dan Porterfield headshot

    Dan Porterfield

    President & CEO, Aspen Institute

  • Jeremy Heimans headshot

    Jeremy Heimans

    Co-founder & Chairman, Purpose

  • Daniel Sachs headshot

    Daniel Sachs

    Founder & CEO, P Capital Partners

Careers


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