this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2025
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This consolidation of power is a dream come true for the Big Tech platforms, but it’s a nightmare for users. While the megacorporations get more traffic and a whole lot more user data (read: profit), users are left with far fewer community options and a bland, corporate surveillance machine instead of a vibrant public sphere. The internet we all fell in love with is a diverse and colorful place, full of innovation, connection, and unique opportunities for self-expression. That internet—our internet—is worth defending.

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[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

We should just make an Internet that you have to VPN into. Like sci-fi space travel? We can call it the "hypernet".

[–] RVGamer06@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We have something like that, it's called darknet.

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

How do you use it without being caught at a node or getting on a list for downloading associated software though?

[–] RVGamer06@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)
  1. you use any censorship-evading functionality available, such as obfs4 for tor.
  2. hopefully you get it from another trusted person.
[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 days ago

Its called i2p and tor

[–] underline960@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

users are left with far fewer community options

Where is the fediverse in this analysis?

Edit: The article references Bluesky fleeing Mississippi due to risk of fines. Do admins running fediverse instances run similar risks?

Bluesky was the first platform to make the announcement. In a public blogpost, Bluesky condemned H.B. 1126’s broad scope, barriers to innovation, and privacy implications, explaining that the law forces platforms to “make every Mississippi Bluesky user hand over sensitive personal information and undergo age checks to access the site—or risk massive fines.” As Bluesky noted, “This dynamic entrenches existing big tech platforms while stifling the innovation and competition that benefits users.” Instead, Bluesky made the decision to cut off Mississippians entirely until the courts consider whether to overturn the law.

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago

Just goes to show that blue sky isn't as decentralized as they would like you to think they are.

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[–] acosmichippo@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

there need to be dedicated 3rd party age verification services separate from the site. the people with my identity info don’t need to see what i’m doing on the site, and the site doesn’t need to know my identity any more than a general age group.

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No, as soon as you ask the government to send a site a token verifying you, you’ve given up your privacy to the government.

Also, how are smaller sites going to pay for this service? This is the tech bros using the religious nuts to pull the ladder up behind them. Locking in the monopoly. The only answer is the freedom we’ve had for the last 35 years.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well, as much as I hate it, there's no privacy when it comes to your government, and this is the case even since the internet was a thing.

Yes, we can keep some stuff obscured from the government, but the fact is that they know everything about us since we are born (probably even before). We need driver's license, passport, bank accounts, registering homes, cars, even dogs, putting kids in the school system, health services, the list seems infinite.

But that does not mean we have to stop pushing back, because if we do, we're utterly fucked.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My government doesn't know everything about me. Look at the news and how long it takes for basic information about a high profile criminal to come out. It takes a lot of investigative effort to put all that info together, even if it's all largely from various government agencies.

Some stuff is easy to track (e.g. registrations), but a lot isn't. That means there's absolutely precedent for privacy from the government on things that don't matter to it. Why should the welfare department need information about my driving history or whether I have a passport? It doesn't, so it shouldn't have access.

[–] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I agree, it shouldn't, but I but they do. Don't deceive yourself like that. As I said, some stuff you can (still) keep under wraps, that's how criminals do it, but connecting the dots they almost invariably get caught, sooner or later.

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