It started with a ban.
Amina, a 24-year-old content creator from Lagos, had spent the last two years building a loyal following on TikTok. Her videos funny, relatable, and deeply rooted in Nigerian culture had earned her over a million followers, brand collaborations, and a monthly income that helped support her family. But one morning, she woke up to a flood of DMs: “TikTok is down.” It’s not a glitch but a government ban.
Her digital life vanished in a blink.
No backup. No way to reach her audience. No way to transfer her content. No explanation and worst of all no control.
Amina’s story is not unique. Around the world, people are realising that the platforms they rely on can be taken away overnight. Whether it’s due to government crackdowns, algorithm changes, or corporate decisions, the truth is this: we don’t own the spaces we live in online. We don’t even own ourselves.
What’s Broken with Social Media Today?
Technology has become deeply personal. It tracks our habits, powers our connections, and even shapes how we think. But beneath the sleek interfaces and curated feeds lies a darker reality, today’s social platforms are not built for users they’re built for advertisers.
Social media companies harvest troves of behavioural data, optimise content for engagement at all costs, and thrive on rage, distraction, and emotional manipulation. This system has turned our digital lives into a business model of surveillance and exploitation and users, we’re just the raw material.
This has given rise to a new term, called “antisocial media”. Platforms that promise connection but deliver isolation, misinformation, and increasingly toxic public spaces. It’s no wonder, that a wave of proposals is emerging to fix what’s broken.
The growing disconnect between users and platforms has sparked a wave of discontent and a bold set of proposals seeking to change how the Internet works at its core. At the centre of this push is one powerful idea, data ownership.
But what if the issue isn’t just how social media works, but who it works for?
Project Liberty and the Quest for a User-Owned Internet
One of the most ambitious efforts to tackle this issue is Project Liberty, a movement proposing to rewire the internet in favour of the individual. Rather than building another social network, Project Liberty aims to build an infrastructure that could support better ones.
At its core is a new protocol DSNP (Decentralized Social Networking Protocol), an open-source standard designed to give users control over their data, identity, and social connections. Think of it like HTTPS, the protocol that secures websites, but for social interaction.
With DSNP, your digital identity wouldn’t be tied to any social media platforms. Instead, you’d own it. You could carry your social graph (your connections, interactions, and content) with you from one platform to another. Platforms would have to earn your trust and attention rather than trap you with algorithms and data lock-in.
The protocol aims to be backed by blockchain technology because it offers decentralised storage, identity verification, and bot resistance. But even supporters of the project admit that this is an experimental territory, wherein these problems cannot be solved on paper, but will have to test it in the real world.
Why This Matters for Africa
While this movement is gaining traction in the US and some parts of Europe, what does it mean for Africa?
On the surface, data ownership might sound like a “rich country problem”. In Africa, where access and affordability often dominate the technology narrative, some might wonder: “Do people even care about owning their social media data?”
But the answer is more nuanced.
For one, African nations are increasingly vulnerable to global platform decisions that they had no hand in shaping. The recent bans on some social media platforms in some African countries have shown how centralised platforms can disappear overnight cutting off users, creators, small businesses, and entire communities.
These abrupt bans have sparked the realisation that data portability matters. If your digital livelihood depends on a platform that can be banned without warning, you should at least have the right to take your data, your followers, your content, and your online reputation with you.
Moreover, the continent is at a critical juncture. With a young, tech-savvy population and growing interest in local tech development, Africa can leapfrog into a new digital paradigm built on sovereignty, user rights, and decentralisation.
Do People Even Want to Own Their Data?
Ask the average person, and you’ll hear: “I just want to post, not worry about my metadata.” The idea of “owning your social data” can feel abstract, even unnecessary. If people don’t feel the loss in the fight for a solution?
But the truth is, people do care they just don’t know they should yet.
If we frame data ownership not as a technology feature but as a human right the right to control your voice, your history, and your audience, then suddenly it becomes very real. Especially when platforms shut down, silence users, or profit from deeply personal information without consent.
Education will be key. So will design. Platforms built on these new protocols must be easy to use, mobile-first, and accessible even in low-bandwidth environments. If the user experience doesn’t feel better, faster, or more liberating, people won’t switch no matter how ethical the system is.
The Complicated Promise of Blockchain
Blockchain a central component of the DSNP protocol is still untested at the scale that mainstream social networks operate on. It also raises valid concerns such as, can it handle millions of daily interactions? Is it environmentally sustainable? Will it truly be inclusive, or will it reinforce new forms of digital elitism?
Even the idea of individual data ownership is not without criticism. Some argue that data is inherently social, it’s not just yours, it’s about your connections and interactions with others. How do you “own” a conversation? Or a shared photo? This and more are the real challenges for this movement solution.
It’s also worth noting that blockchain isn’t a silver bullet. For data ownership to work meaningfully, it must also involve robust regulation, open standards, and digital literacy efforts, not just cryptographic infrastructure.
From Platforms to People
We are standing at a crossroads. One path leads deeper into surveillance capitalism, addictive algorithms, and user exploitation. The other points to a freer, fairer digital world, where people are not just content producers, but digital citizens with rights, agency, and control.
Project Liberty may not have all the answers, and it may not get everything right. But it asks the right questions. Who owns the internet? Who benefits from our attention? What kind of digital society are we building?
Amara’s story reminds us what’s at stake. Our online lives are real lives. And the platforms we use shape how we see ourselves, how we connect, and what opportunities we can access.
