Alternatives for the Internet: A Journey into Decentralised Network Architectures and Information Commons

  • Mélanie Dulong de Rosnay CNRS
  • Francesca Musiani CNRS
Keywords: Internet, alternatives, peer-to-peer, P2P, decentralisation, information commons, digital commons, data commons, urban commons, intellectual property, capitalism, peer production

Abstract

For over twenty years, alternative forms of organising and networking – fuelled by the Internet but sometimes pre-dating it – have been discussed as possible responses to the dynamics of concentration, centralisation and capture exemplified in the current pervasively digital world by Internet giants such as Google and Facebook. This article takes stock of the lessons learned by the authors in over a decade of research on decentralised/P2P network architectures and on information commons, to suggest some ‘ways forward’ for these alternatives for the Internet.

Published
2020-08-19
Section
Reflections (Non Peer-Reviewed)