Funding Freenet
Freenet is a long-term effort to build decentralized infrastructure for a free and open internet. Development is funded primarily by donations and grants from individuals who believe this work matters.
Why Freenet matters
The internet has become increasingly centralized. Communication, commerce, and collaboration are controlled by a small number of platforms that can censor content, surveil users, and deny service at will.
Freenet is building decentralized infrastructure that allows applications to operate without centralized control. Applications deployed on Freenet cannot be taken down, do not require servers, and do not depend on any single organization to continue operating.
This kind of work is difficult to fund commercially. There is no business model in building infrastructure that no one controls. But it is important for the long-term health of the internet and for the preservation of open communication.
About the project
Freenet was created by Ian Clarke in 1999 and has been an ongoing effort to build decentralized communication infrastructure. The project has influenced decentralized systems research and inspired related projects over more than two decades.
The current generation is a ground-up redesign of the architecture, built for modern decentralized applications that run in the browser and communicate over a peer-to-peer network. It remains fully open source under the AGPL license. Freenet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Major supporters
Freenet is supported by individuals who believe decentralized internet infrastructure is important for the future of the internet.
If you are interested in supporting Freenet at a significant level, we would be glad to talk.