Twitter and decentralization

Published on 20 May 2018

So, I have just waited 2 days to get my Twitter account @DonTravlos back. This is what happened: I responded to a tweet, I then retweeted the tweet I had responded to, immediately I got the following email,

Hello,

Your account appears to have exhibited automated behavior that violates the Twitter Rules: https://support.twitter.com/articles/18311.

In order to continue safely using Twitter, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account on the web or open your Twitter app (iOS or Android).
2. You’ll see a prompt letting you know your account has been locked. Click or tap “Start”.
3. Select your country/region from the drop down menu, and then enter your phone number.
4. Click “Send code” and Twitter will send you a text message with a confirmation code (note that your standard message rates may apply).
5. Enter the code you received in the “Your code” box and click “Submit”.
6. You will see a confirmation message that your account is now unlocked.

Once you confirm your identity, it may take up to a few minutes for your account to be unlocked.

If you’re still experiencing an issue after confirming your identity, please reply to this message and provide us with specific details of the problem you’re experiencing. We’ll do our best to help!

Thanks,

Twitter Support

Okay so I am aware of all the security issues surrounding 2FA with mobiles but, Twitter already has my mobile number. So no biggie; I go and do what they ask. I complete the google captcha, I get the SMS code, I type it in, for one moment I see ”syntax error” flash, but it lets me into my account.

My account is still locked/limited and I then see this in my inbox,

Hello,

Thanks for writing in. We believe that your account @DonTravlos may be compromised by a user or a service not associated with Twitter. To secure your account and continue safely using Twitter, please follow these instructions:

1. Log out of your account on twitter.com.
2. Use this link to change your password: https://twitter.com/account/begin_password_reset.
3. Make sure to pick a strong, unique password you haven’t used before. If you need help, read the “How to send yourself a password reset via email” section of this article: https://support.twitter.com/articles/14663.

Once you change your password, it may take a few hours for your account to return to normal.

If you’re still experiencing any issues after resetting your password, please reply to this email and provide us with specific details of the problem you’re experiencing.

Thanks,

Twitter Support

So I duly go and change my password, you guessed it, still locked/limited. So I appeal again. Today my account was finally back up and running, but… there’s always a but right? I am following no-one. All my followers are there but I am following zero - zilch - nada. My timelime is empty?

So I suppose I could just say back up your followers and following lists and leave the lesson at that, but…

The real lesson is this, firstly I doubt Twitter is deliberately targeting me, in a way, it would be nice to be so important that someone felt they needed to. But let’s be honest here, that’s not likely. Pretty sure the AI they use got triggered and the rest is most likely to do with GDPR coming on the 25 May 2018 and the fact that Apple just pushed a major security update that I have been too lazy to install. So what I am saying is, it’s a software glitch.

Consider for a moment something like Twitter which is a microblogging site, is becoming essential to the dissemination of news. It doesn't really help to have multiple versions where you need to establish your reputation from scratch. The problem is this, Twitter is centralized, that is, it is controlled by one company. If that company gets hacked, or messes up, the entire ecosystem suffers. Now consider twitter is a P2P network for sharing news. To make this work, ideally you require two things, unique identity and enforceability of punishment of each participant and a timeline; a way to be sure that events occured in the order displayed. At the moment we depend on Twitter, the company, to provide this service.

Here are the problems, identity on something like the internet is difficult. I remember the early days of the internet, we used to joke: on the internet you can be a dog and nobody will know. Unique identities of users on the internet is not a desirable thing, one of the first things people realized about the internet was the advantage of dealing with people on what they say/write. Without considering whether they are a woman or disabled or are bald because of their cancer treatment. So on the internet the only unique thing is the IP address, but if some people have their way, you will be required to have the webcam running the entire time you are online, so their AI algos can check its really you. This what they really mean when they talk about “big data”.

So without a way to deteremine identity uniquely it’s easy to spam a P2P network like Twitter. Twitter does its best to preserve the integrity of its network, a consequence of that is that I and many others get inconvenienced. The issue though is bigger, if Twitter wants to become essential to human society as a major carrier of News, it needs to have “skin in the game” which means if it messes up it needs to pay a price. This will inevitably lead to regulation, which will lead to Twitter becoming an incumbent monopoly like the auditing firms, the rating agencies and the banks. I am quite clear on my stance on Facebook, delete it, not because of the data you give it, but because with the data you leak and what you freely give them and this is crucial your contacts and friends, they can profile people even who are not on Facebook, and thus have not even implicitly given permission to be profiled. And if you don't believe it matters just recall Mark Zuckerbergs answer when asked “What hotel did you stay in last night?” (Short answer he declined to give the details).

To me Facebook is just creepy, it’s a bit like spying on your friends, if you want to know what’s happening in their lives contact them and ask. If you want to broadcast certain things about your life use a postcard. Mark my words Facebook will push for regulation, because it knows that with regulation it can enforce its business model and prevent any competition.

But back to Twitter; the solution is a decentralized system. Specifically a permissionless uncensorable and unstoppable one. Can it be done? Bitcoin does it, Ethereum is attempting to develop the code to allow more general systems to be developed. Is it easy? Of course not, what in life that is worth doing is easy?

Hold on for an interesting ride, certain systems must be decentralized, recreating the existing world on the internet is a pointless task, we want the power that “bots” and “pseudonyms” bring, we also want it to not have a central point of failure. The problem with a central governance model is:

1. It can be gamed.
2. It’s a an obvious place to attack, assume that there are bad actors out there who have lots of time and resources.
3. Centralization leads to entrenched incumbents who will resist change unless it’s in their interest.

We have the technology (cryptography), we have the network (TCP/IP), we have the tools C, C++, Java, Javascript, Rust, Ruby, Mathematica, OCaml, Python … Let’s build a better world, a new world, a decentralized fully inclusive world.

Come join us!