In a groundbreaking partnership that could reshape the social media landscape, Project Liberty has joined forces with SOAR.com, an AI studio created by Ancestry founder Paul Allen. The collaboration aims to challenge the dominance of centralized social media giants by leveraging artificial intelligence and decentralized data infrastructure.
Decentralizing Social Networking
Project Liberty, backed by real estate billionaire Frank McCourt to the tune of $250 million, is on a mission to create a fairer internet. Central to this effort is the development of the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP), a public database of people’s social connections that puts users in control of their data.
By partnering with SOAR, Project Liberty gains access to cutting-edge AI technology and established social networking portals. SOAR’s Family Portal, originally built on Facebook and boasting 120 million users, will employ AI-powered transcription to log and store the universe of family interactions. Meanwhile, the Citizens Portal provides an easily searchable service for local government community data, featuring over a million hours of transcripts and information from city, county, and state meetings.
Empowering Digital Citizenship
For Paul Allen, a key attraction of Project Liberty is its promise to let users retain permanent control over their data—a trust relationship that he feels was abused in the case of Facebook and Ancestry.com after his departure. As he explains:
“Do we want this kind of outcome in a handful of trillion-dollar companies controlling the internet? I think not. We have sovereign citizenship in the countries we live in. We should have sovereign citizenship in the future of the web, which respects our human rights in the digital world.”
Since launching the Frequency blockchain, Project Liberty has attracted 1.3 million users. The SOAR Family and Citizen portals are expected to bring tens of millions more onboard as people seek alternatives to the current all-powerful social media platforms. According to Tomicah Tillemann, president of Project Liberty, this influx presents an opportunity “to do AI right” while driving decentralization.
Bidding for TikTok’s US Assets
Project Liberty has also emerged as a leading contender to acquire the US assets of Chinese-owned TikTok, should the company be forced to sell to a US owner. Tillemann confirmed that Project Liberty is widely regarded as the frontrunner, with promises of tens of billions in capital to participate in the effort.
If successful, the acquisition would bring TikTok’s 170 million US users onto the same decentralized infrastructure being developed in collaboration with the Frequency blockchain. This move could dramatically accelerate the adoption of decentralized social networking and pose a serious challenge to the dominance of centralized platforms.
Shaping the Future of the Internet
The partnership between Project Liberty and SOAR comes at a pivotal moment for the internet. With growing concerns over data privacy, content moderation, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few tech giants, many are looking for alternatives that prioritize user sovereignty and decentralization.
By combining Project Liberty’s vision for a fairer internet with SOAR’s AI capabilities and established user base, this alliance has the potential to significantly disrupt the status quo. As the race to acquire TikTok’s US operations heats up, the outcome could well determine the trajectory of social media for years to come.
As Project Liberty prepares to host its inaugural Summit on the Future of the Internet in Washington DC this November, all eyes will be on this ambitious initiative and its potential to reshape the digital landscape. With the backing of committed investors, cutting-edge technology, and a growing community of users seeking change, Project Liberty and SOAR may just hold the key to unlocking a more equitable and decentralized future for social networking.
