GNU Social And You

Authors Jason Self

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jxself.org

GNU Social And You Home

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets have literally revolutionized the way Linux-libre
many people in the world communicate. But, is this communication really free? Can
you expect that these services will be up and running and that you'll be able to use
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them, no matter the political climate of the time?

We have to ask these questions because of events that have happened around the How To
world. Iran protestors made use of Facebook to organize their demonstrations.
Egyptian students also used social media outlets to assemble and orchestrate civil Articles
unrest about their government. At any time, all of these protests could have been
curtailed or even completely eliminated if any of the social media's centralized RSS Feed
services were cut off. In fact, the governments of each of these countries were
pressuring these outlets to shutdown services to their countries. Fortunately, they
didn't. But, with high financial interests at stake for players like Facebook, social media
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outlets could have easily relented to these demands.
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However, do not think that it will take civil unrest for these outlets to also spy and
monitor your data. They are already doing it. The centralized nature of the system GPL enforced
allows vast repositories of data to be maintained about all of your interactions on
these sites. In fact, the free email accounts that most of you are using are being
scanned for this very purpose. Right now they can send you targeted ads. Imagine If you appreciate any of the things I
what else might be possible, and how easy it would be to obtain full data maps of am doing you can make a donation.
people's lives. There is no greater threat to your civil liberties, privacy and autonomy
on the internet.

So, how can we make sure a kill switch cannot be flipped to disconnect individuals
protesting for their rights? Equally important, how do you regain control over your data
and start enjoying your privacy and autonomy once again? The short answer is that
we need to decentralize the internet. Decentralized services are not tied down to one
location or to private ownership. The manner in which they are set up also provides a
means to communicate with others without the loss of your data which means you can
keep your privacy.

More importantly, you don't have to wait for this to happen. GNU Social is a free
software program that operates in a decentralized way, allowing you to interact with
family, friends, or whomever you wish. Since this allows you local control over your
interactions with others, all your data remains in your home and under your protection.
This also means that you and others who are using the software do not have to worry
about a kill switch being flipped to disconnect anyone. You also keep the logs of
everything.

In short, if you want to have more control over how you interact on the web, and
regain your freedom, privacy and autonomy from outside interference, you need to
start moving towards using programs like GNU Social.