Freenet
Self-portrait
Leap over censorship.
Escape total surveillance.
Freenet is a peer-to-peer platform for censorship-resistant communication and publishing. Browse websites, post on forums, and publish files within Freenet with strong privacy protections.
Description
Freenet is a decentralized network of free software allowing to save, share and use files anonymously and censorship-free, with the goal of creating a platform for freedom of speech and access to unmanipulated information. The project was designed in 1999 by Ian Clarke at the University of Edinburgh. His final papers were the basis for another paper by Oskar Sandberg, Brandon Wiley and Theodore W. Hong, titled “Freenet: A distributed anonymous information storage and retrieval system”. Its founders posit freedom of speech can only be possible in anonymity and that true democracy happens when people not only exercise their right to vote, but when they do so conscientiously and adequately informed.
Freenet does not have central servers; users provide bandwidth and part of their hard drive for encrypted file storage. Depending on their use, these files might be stored or automatically deleted. The system can operate in two simultaneous modes: as a detectable open-net that any user can log into, or as a darknet where users can only connect to their friends. Darknet mode is very hard to detect from the outside and is resistant to restricted routes, making it difficult for governments to block it.
By disallowing anyone from deciding what content is adequate, the network intends to avoid imposing any kind of information values. For anonymity, the network uses a mechanism called “subspaces”, enabling the use of digital signatures to create a pseudonym and prevent censorship or punishment. Users can also upload or download files without having to identify themselves or having to stay online after uploading content. Files are divided, distributed and stored across several hard drives, then re-assembled for download.
Although censorship might be considered necessary at times, the criteria under which information is valued depends on context; for example, content deemed to be racist could be useful in studying and assessing the gravity of said phenomenon.
Copyright laws cannot be applied, which artists in the music industry have protested. However, thanks to the wide distribution of content online, there are other strategies being promoted to support artists with contributions from their audience.
Freenet can be used several ways: using a proxy to access websites with content hosted exclusive on Freenet; using plugins or apps to share files or go on a message board; using the FMS (Free Messaging System) to get in touch with trusted users and share information (thus avoiding spam or service restrictions). Websites are managed with the jSite app, while messaging, chat services and file sharing are managed with FCP (Free Client Protocol).
Links
URL: https://freenetproject.org/
Wayback machine: http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://freenetproject.org/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freenet
