Ethereum Name Service (ENS), the universal standard for naming and identity on the Ethereum blockchain, has joined the Project Liberty Alliance, a global coalition of more than 100 organizations working to build a people-powered internet. ENS is among the first major crypto projects to join the Alliance and back The People’s Bid For TikTok.
ENS and Project Liberty share a vision for social networks powered by the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP), an open standard akin to HTTP for Web2. DSNP links consensus layers like public blockchains with social applications, enabling users to control, and revoke, their data on a per-app basis.
As the future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain, with a government-imposed sale deadline on Saturday, April 5, creators find themselves in limbo. The People’s Bid offers a better path: one where creators are no longer dependent on political decisions or corporate acquisitions, but instead empowered by self-sovereignty.
“Whether Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal or the current indecision around TikTok in the US, we as consumers know that our personal data is valuable, but still don’t have control over how that data is used. By migrating TikTok to a new infrastructure, people, not only corporations, governments, or algorithms, would have the agency to shape their digital experience. We felt it was valuable to have ENS, a core Ethereum identity protocol, alongside this broad consortium of prominent technologists, academic institutions, policymakers, and civic organizations to help shape the future of a user owned social platform,” said James Beck, Head of Growth at ENS Labs, the organization behind the open-source blockchain naming protocol Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
“This is a powerful moment to align infrastructure with values,” said Sheila Warren, COO of Project Liberty. “The collective mission of The Project Liberty Alliance reflects what many of us across Web3 have worked tirelessly toward — a world in which users have not just privacy, but power. ENS brings a foundational identity layer to that vision, and I’m thrilled to see them joining forces with The Alliance to reimagine what social platforms can be when built on open standards and user ownership.”
The People’s Bid For TikTok marks a historic first: a decentralized Web3 protocol actively participating in the acquisition of a major Web2 platform. Overcoming entrenched network effects has long been a major hurdle for Web3 adoption. By aligning with TikTok’s vast user base, this effort has the potential to introduce millions to a new model of social networking, one where users have more choice, more voice, and a direct stake in the value they create.
ENS will also collaborate with Frequency Network, the decentralized infrastructure supporting Project Liberty’s bid, to explore areas of standardization between DSNP profile names and ENS identifiers.
ABOUT PROJECT LIBERTY
Launched in 2019, Project Liberty builds solutions that help people take back control of their digital lives by reclaiming a voice, choice, and stake in a better internet. Last May, Project Liberty announced The People’s Bid for TikTok with the backing of Guggenheim Securities, the investment banking and capital markets business of Guggenheim Partners, and Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s largest law firm. The People’s Bid aims to capitalize on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redesign TikTok to help Americans reclaim their digital independence. For the first time, it would give TikTokers control of their data, and provide creators and businesses ownership of the relationships they’ve worked so hard to build. The People’s Bid has attracted deep support from leaders across the fields of finance, policy, and technology, along with thousands of concerned citizens.
For more information, visit ProjectLiberty.io.