In a move to safeguard social media from the influence of billionaires, a group of international tech entrepreneurs and advocates has launched Free Our Feeds, a campaign aimed at protecting Bluesky's underlying technology, the AT Protocol, and creating an open social media ecosystem.

The initiative comes at a critical time, as Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has recently announced plans to drop fact-checking and loosen content moderation rules, sparking concerns about the concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals. The campaign also coincides with Bluesky's surge in popularity, as users migrate from X (formerly Twitter) following Elon Musk's promotion of political causes on the platform.

Free Our Feeds aims to establish a public-interest foundation that would fund the creation of new interoperable social networks running on the AT Protocol, and build independent infrastructure to support these new platforms. This would ensure that even if Bluesky were to fall under billionaire control, users would have alternative options backed by independent infrastructure.

The campaign has garnered support from notable figures, including actor Mark Ruffalo, director Alex Winter, writer Cory Doctorow, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and Mozilla Foundation president Mark Surman, among others. Robin Berjon, an independent technologist and one of the project's nine "custodians," explained that Free Our Feeds is the result of conversations around exploring ways to push for change in the way social media and digital infrastructure work.

Berjon emphasized the importance of protecting digital infrastructure, which he likened to a public road network. "If all the roads were owned by one or two billionaires, and they could tax anything, decide who's allowed to go where, etc, then we would be in trouble," he said. "And digital infrastructure is not, as you know, obviously big and in your face as a road maybe, but it works in exactly the same way. It has the exact same dynamic, the exact same concentration of power."

The team behind Free Our Feeds acknowledges that they share the same values as Bluesky, but they believe that the company is susceptible to venture capital pressure. They aim to raise $30 million over three years, with an immediate goal of $4 million to hire a small team and build independent infrastructure. Berjon explained that the goal is to operate infrastructure that ensures the AT protocol remains open, even if Bluesky were to fall under billionaire control.

The AT Protocol, currently being used to build Bluesky, has the potential to be used to build other types of social apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok analogs. Berjon envisions a future where users can seamlessly switch between different social media platforms, using their existing accounts, thanks to the interoperability of the AT protocol.

Free Our Feeds intends to have the independent foundation established and running by the end of the year. Berjon assured that if the non-profit doesn't raise enough funds, it will return the money. As the campaign gains momentum, it remains to be seen whether it can successfully create a more open and democratic social media ecosystem, free from the influence of billionaires.