The Cult of the Dead Cow's Strategy to Preserve the Internet


The modern internet is a terrible, no-good privacy nightmare, and we should probably start over. That's the argument behind the latest project from the Cult of the Dead Cow.

While the internet comprises more than just Facebook, Google, and the app formerly known as Twitter, these platforms dominate most users' internet experience. Unfortunately, the advertising-based business models of these giants mean that privacy features are often secondary to delivering highly targeted advertising.

The Cult of the Dead Cow is determined to change this with their project called Veilid, which serves as a foundation for software developers to build privacy-centric apps. "We exist to develop, distribute, and maintain a privacy-focused communication platform and protocol for the purpose of defending human and civil rights," stated Christien "DilDog" Rioux, a Cult of the Dead Cow member and co-founder of the security software Veracode, at a recent launch event during the DEF CON hacking conference.

Recognized as the "original hacking supergroup," the Cult of the Dead Cow has a long history of creating technical tools to safeguard user privacy and security. Veilid is their major project in over a decade, and perhaps their most ambitious one yet.

Veilid aims to supplant the advertising behemoths that dominate social media platforms with an alternative suite of open-source, serverless, peer-to-peer, and mobile-first applications. By establishing an application framework that prioritizes privacy, Veilid empowers developers to build applications with a fundamentally different ethos than the current advertising-driven internet economy.

The project took shape about four years ago when Rioux approached Katelyn "Medusfour" Bowden with the idea of developing a new private social media and messaging service. Although Rioux had most of the technical aspects figured out, safety concerns surrounding the creation of encrypted, surveillance-resistant applications remained.

Bowden, the founder of BADASS (an advocacy group combating non-consensual pornography), emphasized that eliminating profit motives is crucial for ensuring the safety of Veilid-built applications. "We cannot have a profit motive because once you introduce it, trust and safety fall apart. That's when you have to appease VCs or investors," Bowden explained.

The project operates under the non-profit Veilid Foundation, comprising Rioux, Bowden, and Paul Miller, a community organizer and privacy advocate. Their goal is not to establish a corporation, make money, or quit their day jobs. They simply want to create something cool.

Following Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, numerous alternatives to the platform emerged. Protocols such as ActivityPub for Mastodon and AT Protocol for Bluesky Social seek to introduce decentralized designs, where users must choose a specific server to post on. However, these decentralized networks have struggled to gain mainstream traction, despite appealing to technically oriented communities.

The complexity of using Mastodon, for instance, led to a flood of how-to articles aimed at helping unfamiliar users navigate the federated social media application. On the other hand, the successful launch of Meta's Threads underscored the importance of user-friendliness, as it attracted 10 million users within the first seven hours. Signing up for Threads only required an Instagram account and a few taps, while Mastodon demanded more dedicated reading.

Despite early success, Threads has experienced a significant decline in active users since its launch, suggesting that there's still room for a genuine Twitter competitor to emerge after Musk's acquisition of the platform.

Consequently, individuals who are only familiar with Google and Facebook find themselves with limited options for privacy-preserving tools. "All of us who know better and want to leave Facebook are still there because our grandparents, aunts, or uncles are still there," Bowden remarked.

One example of an app that has gained widespread adoption is the Signal protocol and chat app, which initially targeted tech-savvy users, journalists, and activists but has now become more accessible due to its user-friendly design.

Where Veilid sets itself apart is in its multifunctionality. While various platforms like Mastodon, Signal, Keybase, and numerous self-hosted projects on GitHub cater to specific purposes—social media, chat and calls, Slack alternatives—privacy and security considerations often fall on the developers themselves. Although high-profile applications such as Signal and Keybase offer comprehensive white papers detailing their privacy and security measures, not every developer possesses the inclination, expertise, or time to meticulously document their software.

Veilid endeavors to lay the groundwork for developers to construct applications that prioritize privacy from the outset. Whether it's a peer-to-peer messenger, social media platform, or storage application, as the project was unveiled at DEF CON, Bowden expressed that "the possibilities here are endless."

The project's initial flagship application, VeilidChat, is slated for release in the upcoming months.

Bowden emphasized that Veilid extends beyond code and technology; it revolves around people. The aim is to make hacktivism accessible to all, with Bowden highlighting that even his own mother can participate, share ideas, and engage in the project through their Discord server.

At the heart of Veilid lies the community encircling the framework. The launch of Veilid's Discord server has resulted in an influx of new users, fostering a wealth of ideas, small projects, and other invaluable contributions to the framework. Some of the early undertakings include a python-based chat demonstration, an equivalent of a paste-bin, and an ASCII Star Wars project.

Open-source development is renowned for generating communities, although these communities often consist solely of programmers, inadvertently excluding those who are less tech-savvy from influencing the products they employ.

Bowden expressed a desire to welcome individuals who may lack technical expertise but possess an interest in shaping the functionality of the internet and prioritizing privacy. In Bowden's words, "We want people that aren't technical. I want regular people in there, so that they can find themselves in a situation where they get to have a say in how apps are built."