Episode #38 - Protocols not Platforms - NOSTR, BTC, SimpleX

Podcast Show Notes
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Closed Network podcast Episode 38 -

Show Notes Click Here! - Episode #38 - Protocols not Platforms - NOSTR, BTC, SimpleX

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– TOPICS –

Why Protocols over Platforms?

  • Ownership and Control: Protocols offer true ownership of your data and connections, free from the whims of centralized entities that control platforms.
  • Censorship Resistance: With protocols, you’re less vulnerable to censorship since no single authority has the power to dictate or block communication.
  • Interoperability: Protocols encourage open standards and interoperability, allowing different systems and networks to communicate seamlessly, unlike platforms that lock you into their ecosystem.
  • Longevity and Stability: Platforms can shut down or change policies overnight, but protocols, once established, can last as long as there’s a community to support them.
  • Innovation and Flexibility: Protocols foster innovation by enabling developers to build on top of open frameworks, without the restrictions imposed by platform gatekeepers.
  • Decentralization: Protocols decentralize control, reducing the risk of monopolies and promoting a healthier, more competitive ecosystem for communication and social connections.
  • Privacy: Protocols typically prioritize privacy by design, giving users more control over their personal information, whereas platforms often monetize user data.
  • Community-Driven: Protocols are often maintained and evolved by the community, ensuring that the focus remains on the users’ needs rather than corporate profits.
  • Resilience: In a world where platforms can be targeted by hackers or governments, protocols offer greater resilience through distributed, peer-to-peer networks.
  • Future-Proofing: Investing in protocols is a bet on the long-term health of the internet, ensuring that communication and social connections remain open and accessible to all.

Examples

  • Nostr: A decentralized, censorship-resistant protocol designed for social networking. It enables users to communicate without relying on centralized servers, making it resilient against takedowns and censorship.
  • Bitcoin: The first and most widely adopted decentralized cryptocurrency protocol. It provides a secure, transparent, and peer-to-peer method for transferring value without the need for intermediaries like banks.
  • Matrix: An open protocol for decentralized, real-time communication. It supports interoperable messaging and VoIP, allowing different communication services to connect and communicate seamlessly across platforms.
  • SimpleX: A privacy-first messaging protocol designed to be truly decentralized, with no servers storing your messages. It ensures that only the intended recipients can read the messages, enhancing privacy and security.

What is NOSTR?

  1. Decentralized and Censorship-Resistant: Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) is a decentralized protocol designed for social networking and communication. Unlike traditional social media platforms, Nostr doesn’t rely on centralized servers. Instead, it operates through a network of relays that distribute and broadcast user messages without a central authority controlling the content.
  2. Public and Private Keys: Nostr users generate a pair of cryptographic keys—a public key, which serves as their unique identifier, and a private key, used for signing messages. This ensures that only the rightful owner of the private key can post messages under a specific public key, providing strong identity verification without needing a centralized user account system.
  3. Relays for Message Distribution: Messages, or “events,” are sent to one or more relays chosen by the user. Relays act as message broadcasters, making these events available to anyone connected to them. Because anyone can run a relay, the network is highly decentralized, and no single relay controls the flow of information.
  4. Censorship Resistance: Since users can choose which relays to use and can post their events to multiple relays simultaneously, it’s extremely difficult to censor or block content on Nostr. If one relay decides to block or censor a user, they can simply switch to another or use multiple relays to ensure their content remains accessible.
  5. Interoperability and Flexibility: Nostr is designed to be simple and flexible, allowing developers to build various types of applications on top of it, from microblogging to more complex social networking features. Its protocol can be extended and adapted to meet different needs, making it a versatile foundation for decentralized communication.
  6. End-to-End User Control: Nostr gives users full control over their data and how it’s shared. Since there’s no central server, users aren’t at the mercy of platform policies or terms of service changes. They own their data and can choose where and how it’s shared.

Nostr’s design makes it a powerful alternative to traditional social media platforms, prioritizing user autonomy, censorship resistance, and the decentralization of social connections. It’s an ideal solution for those seeking freedom from centralized control and a more open, resilient way to communicate.

What is SimpleX?

SimpleX is a privacy-focused messaging protocol that stands out by being entirely decentralized and serverless in how it handles communication. Here’s an overview of how it works:

  1. Decentralized Message Routing: Unlike traditional messaging systems that rely on central servers to store and relay messages, SimpleX operates on a peer-to-peer (P2P) model. Messages are exchanged directly between users through intermediary nodes, which only act as temporary relays without storing any data.
  2. End-to-End Encryption: All communications on SimpleX are end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that only the intended recipients can decrypt and read the messages. This encryption extends to all message types, including text, media, and metadata, enhancing user privacy.
  3. Ephemeral Message Relays: SimpleX uses ephemeral relays, meaning that these nodes temporarily hold the message until the recipient retrieves it. Once delivered, the message is deleted from the relay, leaving no trace behind.
  4. No Central Servers or User Accounts: SimpleX doesn’t use traditional user accounts or central servers. Instead, users generate unique session IDs that are exchanged directly or through out-of-band means (like QR codes), eliminating the need for a centralized authority.
  5. Metadata Minimization: SimpleX is designed to minimize metadata exposure. It doesn’t track or log who is communicating with whom, when messages are sent, or the content of those messages. This makes it difficult for third parties to conduct surveillance or analyze communication patterns.
  6. Session-Based Communication: Users communicate through sessions that are cryptographically tied to their devices. These sessions can be reset or re-established without compromising security or privacy, offering flexibility and control over communications.

SimpleX’s approach makes it a powerful tool for those seeking a highly private and secure communication method, particularly in scenarios where anonymity and resistance to surveillance are critical.

Police Hack Into ‘Ghost’, An Encrypted Platform for Criminals

"In a major international operation, law enforcement agencies from Australia, Europe, North America, and beyond have successfully infiltrated “Ghost,” an encrypted communications platform used by organized criminals. By hacking into the platform and accessing users’ messages, authorities were able to conduct numerous raids and arrests, including the alleged administrator of Ghost. This operation highlights a growing trend where criminals are shifting away from well-known encrypted platforms like Sky and Encrochat, which have been targeted by law enforcement, to smaller, decentralized networks and consumer apps like Signal.

Europol and other agencies emphasize the importance of law enforcement having access to encrypted communications to prevent criminal activities. The operation against Ghost is part of a broader crackdown on encrypted communication tools used by criminals, raising ongoing debates about privacy, security, and the role of private companies in ensuring their platforms aren’t exploited by illicit actors."

Telegram will now provide IP addresses and phone numbers in response to legal requests

""In a recent shift, Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov announced that the messaging app will now comply with legal requests to hand over user IP addresses and phone numbers. This marks a significant change from Telegram’s history of resisting takedown and information requests, often ignoring them entirely. Alongside this, Telegram is introducing AI and human moderation to filter out problematic content, urging users to report illegal material for swift removal.

Despite these changes, it’s unclear how they will impact the app’s popularity among those involved in illicit activities or law enforcement’s ability to prosecute them. Telegram still offers several privacy-focused features like disappearing messages and end-to-end encryption, and it boasts that it hasn’t disclosed any user messages to third parties or governments. This raises important questions about the balance between user privacy and security in an increasingly monitored digital landscape.“”

The importance of protocols over platforms, specifically focusing on messaging protocols like SimpleX and Matrix, as well as social media protocols like NOSTR over platforms like X/Twitter:

  1. Decentralization and Control:
  • Protocols vs. Platforms: Emphasize how protocols like SimpleX, Matrix, and Nostr prioritize user autonomy by decentralizing control, unlike platforms such as X/Twitter, which are centralized and controlled by a single entity.
  • User Control: Highlight the importance of users maintaining control over their data, communications, and social connections, which is more achievable through protocols that are not subject to corporate oversight.
  1. Censorship Resistance:
  • Censorship Risks on Centralized Platforms: Discuss how centralized platforms like X/Twitter are vulnerable to censorship due to their reliance on a single governing body, which can be influenced by government policies, corporate interests, or even internal moderation policies.
  • Protocols Ensure Free Speech: Explain how protocols like Matrix and Nostr are designed to be censorship-resistant, allowing for free expression and the dissemination of information without interference from centralized authorities.
  1. Long-Term Viability and Sustainability:
  • Survivability Beyond Companies: Argue that platforms are inherently tied to the survival of the companies that operate them, making them vulnerable to shutdowns, policy changes, or buyouts. In contrast, protocols are open standards that can continue to exist and evolve independent of any single organization.
  • Community-Driven Development: Point out that protocols are often developed and maintained by a community of contributors, making them more resilient and adaptable to changing needs over time.
  1. Interoperability and Flexibility:
  • Protocols Promote Interoperability: Stress how protocols like SimpleX and Matrix facilitate interoperability, allowing users to communicate across different apps and services without being locked into a single platform. This contrasts with platforms like X/Twitter, which are siloed ecosystems.
  • Customization and Flexibility: Highlight the flexibility that protocols offer in terms of customization, allowing users to choose the client, features, and privacy settings that best meet their needs.
  1. Privacy and Security:
  • End-to-End Encryption: Discuss the emphasis on privacy within protocols like SimpleX and Matrix, which often include end-to-end encryption as a default feature, ensuring that communications remain private and secure from third-party surveillance.
  • Minimizing Data Collection: Explain how protocols are generally designed to minimize data collection, reducing the risk of personal information being harvested or exploited, unlike centralized platforms that often rely on data monetization.
  1. Case Studies and Examples:
  • SimpleX: Mention how SimpleX focuses on metadata-free communication, ensuring even the network cannot link messages to specific users or identify communication patterns.
  • Matrix: Use Matrix as an example of a protocol that has already seen widespread adoption in both private and public sectors, demonstrating its viability and effectiveness.
  • Nostr: Discuss Nostr as an emerging social media protocol that offers a decentralized alternative to platforms like X/Twitter, with a growing community of users and developers committed to its long-term success.
  1. Future Outlook:
  • The Shift Towards Protocols: Predict the continued shift towards protocols over platforms as more users become aware of the benefits of decentralization, privacy, and control.
  • Building the Ecosystem: Encourage listeners to explore and support the development of these protocols, as building a robust ecosystem is crucial for their success and adoption.

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2 Likes
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Related to federated platforms, I wonder if something like Discourse but federated exists. I love discourse and I think it is very useful as the accumulated knowledge doesn’t get lost in the ether like it often happens in group chats.

However I have dozens of accounts on different forums. It would be cool to instead have only a single one, with reputation score for each forum and a global one. Kinda like stackexchange, but federated.

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Does Discourse have an option for global account sign in? That would be awesome. If that is a thing then I’ll check it out!