What is Redecentralize?
Redecentralize is an independent, volunteer-driven organisation promoting the decentralisation of our digital technology. By connecting technologists with media, policymakers and the wider public, we support projects that work on open, accountable technologies. We strive for freedom of choice and to reduce the power of, and our collective dependence on, big tech corporations.
We care about autonomy and privacy, diversity and inclusivity, sustainability and resilience. We strive for technology that respects these values, and brings power back to individuals and communities.
Redecentralize is registered as a not-for-profit organisation in the UK — while aiming for its scope and reach to be as international as the internet.
Why (re)decentralise?
Despite its open design and democratic ideals, recent years have shown a creeping centralisation of the internet, leading to a handful of gigantic corporations directing its future. This unaccountable corporate capture of our social and digital infrastructure has already led to:
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Less choice and diversity of products and services, as big tech companies keep users locked in through network effects and closed protocols.
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An imbalance of power due to that lack of choice — leading people to accept unfair terms and conditions and exploitative business models, in order to avoid being left out.
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Privacy breaches, unethical data use, addiction, discrimination and political subversion. Our most successful digital business models depend on behavioural data exploitation, with companies being incentivised to profile and manipulate users rather than serve them.
We believe technology can and should serve and empower people, not exploit them. We want and deserve better!
How does Redecentralize address these issues?
Luckily, we are not alone. Many people are pursuing benevolent ways to create, use and govern technology. Hundreds of projects are committed to standardise formats and protocols, develop open source software and hardware, explain the problems and promote solutions.
Redecentralize promotes, connects and facilitates these efforts — because tackling monopoly power and exploitative business models requires us to work together.
We do not side with one specific party, project or protocol, but support the open internet ecosystem as a whole. We bring together technologists, policymakers, journalists and the wider public to learn from each other and collaborate.
Redecentralize focusses on three core areas of complementary work:
- Support and grow the decentralised internet ecosystem
- Raise awareness of problems and their underlying causes
- Advocate for decentralisation to inform supportive policy and regulation
How it started
Redecentralize.org started with a small band of volunteers (Francis Irving, Irina Bolychevsky and Ross Jones) in the wake of the Snowden revelations in June 2013. In the tumult about unaccountable mass surveillance and undermined security, we wanted to promote and connect the amazing projects that could contribute structural solutions, being quietly worked on by people who cared about privacy, resilience and user-control. For the curious, here is an interview with us from those early days.
We started with surveying the field, interviewing project founders, and hosting meet-ups to foster a movement of decentralisers. Since we started and in between jobs, lives and conferences, we have managed to:
We called our movement Redecentralize to remind people about the open and democratic ideals of the early internet and web, which helped it flourish.
