The Downside to Complete Decentralization of Social Media

There has been growing dissatisfaction with large social media platforms. One of the effects of dissatisfaction with major platforms is the development of decentralized social media platforms. However, these projects have not enjoyed as much success as was hoped. Most of them struggle to maintain their user base, and some have been abandoned.

The Downside to Decentralization of Social Networks

While there are many benefits to the decentralization of social networks, there is a dark side to full decentralization. Full decentralization would mean that anyone from anywhere in the world could post anything, and he or she would not face opposition. For instance, if a social media platform was created where users were rewarded in crypto and user data was not tracked, it could present some problems.

While it might be enticing for free speech advocates, the outcome could be disastrous. If the content cannot be edited by anyone on the network, there is always a risk of bad actors overtaking the network. Illegal content and criminal activity could become commonplace.

Even with strict KYC measures in place, nefarious actors could still use real but stole identities to create content that could not be controlled. There are already platforms that exist, which promote free speech without limitation. However, the extreme content that is posted there means that they hardly ever grow beyond small communities.

One such platform is Gab, which was created with the goal of complete freedom online. At one time, it had even planned to move operations to the blockchain. However, the problem has faced problems when it comes to the content posted there. According to Wikipedia, the platform has become a hotbed of extremist groups. It has been criticized for helping to spread extremist content and ideologies.

The problem of how to balance free speech and censoring nefarious content is ongoing. For instance, doxing is a major problem as well as bullying and harassing private citizens. Many platforms have stepped up their content moderation efforts to stop some conspiracy theories such as the flat earth.

Using of self-governance as a way to moderate users of completely decentralized platforms is not effective. Simply downvoting or upvoting content is not enough for moderating what content is on these platforms. Unwanted content will still exist, and worst of all, there is no way to get rid of it.

Summary

While complete decentralization with the current technology might be impractical, some argue that it will eventually happen. As technology develops, it will be possible to develop decentralized platforms that are completely decentralized while filtering unwanted content.