• Damus, a decentralized Twitter rival backed by Jack Dorsey was taken down in China by the CAC.
• Apple complied with the authorities and took down the app soon after.
• The Nostr protocol is used to create censorship-resistant applications such as Damus, Anigma, and Jester.
Damus Taken Down in China
Recently launched decentralized Twitter rival ‚Damus‘ has been banned in China by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). After being asked to do so by the CAC, Apple promptly complied and removed the app from its App Store.
Jack Dorsey’s Support for Decentralized Platforms
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter is a fan of Nostr, an open-source distributed social media protocol on which various new initiatives are being developed. One such initiative is Damus – a Twitter alternative that works on Apple devices. Other projects built on top of Nostr include Anigma – an alternative messaging platform to Telegram – and Jester – a chess game application. Dorsey has actively supported the need for more censorship-proof social media channels over the years and donated 14 BTC (about $327,000 at time of writing) towards developing the Nostr Protocol back in 2020.
Nostr Protocol: Censorship Resistant Platform
The goal behind creating this distributed social media protocol is to provide users with access to censorship-resistant content anywhere around the world using cryptographic key pairs. As all clients are operated by users themselves it is impossible for anyone or entity to censor or prohibit content created through these applications; making them ideal for unrestricted communication between people across countries.
Elon Musk’s Takeover Of Twitter
In 2019 when Dorsey was CEO of Twitter he allocated funds to develop a decentralized social media system according documents released in September last year; seeking Elon Musk’s help after his acquisition of Twitter to transfer its services into open source protocol funded by a foundation instead.
Conclusion
Decentralized platforms are proving increasingly important as they enable users to communicate freely and securely without fear of censorship or data manipulation; ultimately enhancing freedom of expression globally despite restrictions imposed by governments or other entities.