Meta Is Blocking Links to Decentralized Instagram Competitor Pixelfed (404media.co) 41
Meta is deleting links to Pixelfed, a decentralized, open-source Instagram competitor, labeling them as "spam" on Facebook and removing them immediately. 404 Media reports: Pixelfed is an open-source, community funded and decentralized image sharing platform that runs on Activity Pub, which is the same technology that supports Mastodon and other federated services. Pixelfed.social is the largest Pixelfed server, which was launched in 2018 but has gained renewed attention over the last week. Bluesky user AJ Sadauskas originally posted that links to Pixelfed were being deleted by Meta; 404 Media then also tried to post a link to Pixelfed on Facebook. It was immediately deleted. Pixelfed has seen a surge in user signups in recent days, after Meta announced it is ending fact-checking and removing restrictions on speech across its platforms.
Daniel Supernault, the creator of Pixelfed, published a "declaration of fundamental rights and principles for ethical digital platforms, ensuring privacy, dignity, and fairness in online spaces." The open source charter contains sections titled "right to privacy," "freedom from surveillance," "safeguards against hate speech," "strong protections for vulnerable communities," and "data portability and user agency."
"Pixelfed is a lot of things, but one thing it is not, is an opportunity for VC or others to ruin the vibe. I've turned down VC funding and will not inject advertising of any form into the project," Supernault wrote on Mastodon. "Pixelfed is for the people, period."
Daniel Supernault, the creator of Pixelfed, published a "declaration of fundamental rights and principles for ethical digital platforms, ensuring privacy, dignity, and fairness in online spaces." The open source charter contains sections titled "right to privacy," "freedom from surveillance," "safeguards against hate speech," "strong protections for vulnerable communities," and "data portability and user agency."
"Pixelfed is a lot of things, but one thing it is not, is an opportunity for VC or others to ruin the vibe. I've turned down VC funding and will not inject advertising of any form into the project," Supernault wrote on Mastodon. "Pixelfed is for the people, period."
Er (Score:2, Insightful)
"freedom from surveillance," "safeguards against hate speech,"
I'm sorry, but my oxymoron alarm just went off ...
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because you didn't graduate high school
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yeaaaaaah, except for the part where "freedom from surveillance" and "safeguards against hate speech" never actually show up anywhere in [the sales pitch](https://pixelfed.org/), which really only mentions "Privacy and safety".
The "freedom" and "hate speech" parts are from the "Digital Platform Charter of Rights".... which, sure, is also made by the same guy. But Pixelfed being decentralized... he really has bupkis to say about you starting your own pixelfed server catering to... gay black jewish clans
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And this:
"Right to Deletion: Upon request, a user's data will be permanently deleted from the platform, subject to legal or safety exceptions."
. . . How exactly is this expected to work if I'm running a pixelfed server following the federated protocols?
Huh ... kind of an oxymoron there then :)
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Only if you didn't graduate high school.
Freeze Peach (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Freeze Peach (Score:5, Insightful)
It's the Don Way. We lost the election, the drunken cowboys and a NY mobster now run the town. Lock the doors and hide the children.
We didn't lose the election (Score:3, Insightful)
I find it highly amusing to think about what would happen if Elon Musk got the oligarchy he's pushing for.
That pasty moron who can't even beat a path of exile 2 map without paid professionals laying it out for him wouldn't last a week before getting tossed out a window in an actual oligarchy like the kind Russia has. He's no Vladimir Putin. He's not even a Donald duck from Derby Fuehrer's Face.
I don't think a lot of these f
Re: Freeze Peach (Score:2)
"Freeze peach" is a Redditism coined by a small segment of the chronically online who believe the idea of free speech is entirely defined by and encompassed entirely within the US First Amendment, and no more.
Re: Freeze Peach (Score:3)
Correction, their beliefs have narrowed more in recent years, mocking and criticizing even the First Amendment itself.
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Private companies can generally censor any content they want, not being bound by 1st Amendment. If Meta were deemed a monopoly, that could change per anti-trust laws, but they probably have too many near-competitors to qualify.
"Free Speech" may be a PR issue, though, in that Zuck claimed he's for it, but in practice maybe not.
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For example, a mobster having you killed for saying something he doesn't like is not a violation of your 1st Amendment rights, since the mobster is not the government so the 1st Amendment doesn't apply. The same goes for any other violations of your right to free speech as long as they are not performed by the US government.
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They're free to do lots of stupid, reprehensible, evil things. As are you. That's not even close to the fucking point, at all. Have fun playing internet lawyer, I'll be over here.
The point is Zuckerberg preening about how you can use the word "fag" on his site while doing stuff like this makes a mockery of the concept of free speech.
Thank you, drive through.
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How Do You Do, Fellow MAGA? (Score:3)
"They trusted me..."
Thanks Zucker! (Score:3)
I appreciate Zuck and the rest of the F**ker Gang for helping me find an IG alternative for my photography. Saved me the Google search for a comparable option. Have the day you deserve, Metal! ðY-
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I am looking for an Instagram alternative to, so I checked this Pixelfed: "317K total users"... It looks like a ghost town, very likely nobody I know from real life is there
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Not yet they likely aren't. They haven't even heard of it yet.
Why not be a trend setter and get them all to move?
A "ghost town" is generally referred to as such because there *used* to be a town there.
This is more like, a planned development with just the roads and pipes in, waiting for people to come, not a ghost town.
Antitrust law (Score:2)
This is a good example of why antitrust law exists. The solution is simple: break up their little trust.
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Meta doesn't really have a near monopoly on any clear-cut category such that anti-trust legally doesn't apply.
Re: Antitrust law (Score:2)
They certainly are doing a good job of breaking any trust theirs may have had in them. So they are well on their way.
Good thing, since it's not clear which administration would have the willingness to take real action against them.
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Love how you want to apply the wrath of the law to private media companies that won't censor to accommodate your point of view.
Pixelfed? (Score:5, Informative)
I've never heard of Pixelfed, but if they allow me to pause/rewind videos and/or save photos from the app to my phone, then they're already lightyears ahead of Instagram.
Re:Pixelfed? (Score:4, Informative)
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When I click on the YT download button, it asks me to sign up for YT Premium. I assumed that if I did hand over the cash they would let me actually download it.
Welcome (Score:2)
...to the Great Wall of America!
Of course they are. (Score:3)
Commercial platforms do this all the time. Which is why I don't use them for anything mission-critical and retain all relevant content as at least one further copy in systems and storage I control.
As does any other computer savy person that deserves that designation.
Meta is censorship (Score:2)
Anyone who supports the lifting of fact checking on Meta and X for the sake of "free speech" should