> Now, most people I talk to about this tell me they hate their email. It's a spam and junk-filled box full of nothing but coupons, ads, and check-ins from their boss. And I agree. It is just that. Indeed one of the problems with decentralized and federated technologies is exactly that: they're filled with spam, junk, and mixed uses. But that mundanity is the true magic.<p>This is the <i>best</i> outcome?<p>On a related note: if "No, I don't want to sign up for your newsletter" were a browser setting, I would check it immediately and never turn it off. Come to think of it, I want a "block slide-overs" setting because apparently "block pop-ups" wasn't enough and web designers/saboteurs decided "hey, let's make unprompted inline modal windows and use them everywhere!"
To nitpick, I think the best outcome would be decentralization, not federation. For many people needing to pick a provider is a problem. It would be great if you could control your own information without needing to trust a hosting provider.<p>The ideal state is probably somewhere in the middle. My identity is controlled by a signing key, but I can also have service providers do things like host that data so that it is always online, even if my devices are all off. They can maybe also buffer messages for me and do some aggregation so that syncing is faster when my devices come online. However if I want I can just move to a different provider with my key.
The thought that government regulation would help this situation is odd to me, especially since the author brought up phone networks. The ATT monopoly in the USA was created by government for support of the war effort, so that’s a poor example of a need for more regulation. With social networks, regulation will only serve to further centralization, profit, and control. He who has the most money for lobbying will win the power to bend regulation to his whim. In this case, that money will be in the hands of big tech, and decidedly not in the hands of the public. The USA’s government is not a benevolent force for food in the world. The USA is not a democracy. The USA is an oligarchy, and it is increasingly becoming a feudal oligarchy since the oligarchs have pulled the ladder up behind themselves in seemingly every industry, and they’ve used government power to do so. The more money is thrown at something the more of that something results.<p>If you want to really change things, I’m with you, but you need a mass movement by the people and not a governmental intervention.