Imagine being a prominent figure, embroiled in a public divorce, and receiving a torrent of online vitriol from fans. This was the reality for Frank McCourt Jr., former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, during his divorce settlement in 2011. The experience opened his eyes to the harsh realities of the online world during the emerging social media age.
“At the time Facebook was six or seven years old and smartphones were ubiquitous,” McCourt recalls. “I saw how social media just became a weapon of character assassination. People who were not necessarily well-intended could just say whatever they wanted and you had no way of defending yourself.”
Fast forward ten years, and McCourt has launched Project Liberty – a crusade dedicated to reforming the internet and breaking the power of Big Tech companies. McCourt’s major concern is the monopolization of user data by tech giants such as Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon.
Is Big Tech the New World Order?
The notion that tech companies wield power comparable to that of governments is a growing concern within global intellectual and technological circles. Surveillance capitalism and technofeudalism are terms coined to describe a world where digital data collection bleeds into real-world monitoring, enriching a select few companies and individuals.
McCourt’s solution is a “decentralized social networking protocol” that aims to break tech monopolies on data collection, giving power and ownership back to internet users.
McCourt posits that our online presence, devoured by algorithms, isn’t just a collection of data points – it’s a question of personhood. “All this information about us is our lived archive—it’s who we are in the digital age,” he says. “They own you. They own me. And we need to fix that.”
Decentralized Internet: A New Reality?
McCourt believes that we’ve been getting a raw deal – exchanging our privacy for free apps or online services. His vision of a new internet involves users owning their data and setting their own terms of use. If a company agrees to these terms, they can have access to the user’s data for targeted ads or information collection.
McCourt uses the example of RCN, a telecommunications company started by his brother, which allowed people to own their phone numbers. He argues that the same should apply to the digital world with online data. Users should be able to take their data with them wherever they go on the internet.
McCourt’s vision aligns with that of computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, one of the founders of the internet, who advocates for data ownership to lie with the user.
Can Business Lead the Way?
McCourt’s solution requires the creation of new companies that align with his vision of a decentralized digital world. “We need to innovate our way out of it, because I don’t believe the government is going to be able to regulate us out of this mess,” he says.
European Union has made progress in passing laws to regulate tech giants, such as the General Data Protection Legislation and the Digital Markets Act. However, McCourt believes that technology should harmonize with societal policy objectives, rather than constrain harmful elements.
McCourt’s ambition for a decentralized internet does not only offer a new perspective on data ownership, but also challenges the existing power dynamics within the digital world. His advocacy for individual freedom, choice, and autonomy in the digital age is a clarion call for a fairer and more democratic online world. “We’re not even citizens in the digital world,” he says. “We’re subjects. We’re just data to these big platforms. It’s very dehumanizing, it’s kind of sucking the life out of us.”
McCourt’s message is clear – it’s high time to reclaim our digital personhood and reshape the internet landscape. Only then can we truly say that we’re not just subjects of data collection, but active participants in the digital age.
