Mechanism Type 1: Public Interest Social Infrastructure

Public-interest social infrastructure refers to digital spaces that function like social platforms or communication systems but are designed around public benefit rather than commercial profit. These systems run on open technical standards, can be hosted by many organisations and allow their rules and moderation processes to be shaped in more transparent and accountable ways. The aim is to reduce dependency on commercial platforms and to create environments that reflect public values rather than advertising or shareholder incentives.

Interest in this model has grown as large commercial platforms have become more fragile and unpredictable. Sudden policy shifts, changes in ownership, opaque recommendation systems and inconsistent moderation practices have created clear risks for civil society groups that depend on them for communication. In response, a number of public-oriented initiatives have emerged that illustrate alternative approaches to digital infrastructure.

One of the most significant recent efforts is Eurosky (placeholder URL: https://eurosky.eu), a European initiative that aims to develop a publicly governed social network built on open protocols rather than a single commercial platform. Eurosky is linked to broader European goals around digital sovereignty, which refers to the ability for governments, institutions and citizens to rely on infrastructure that they can understand, influence and, where necessary, control. Early Commission papers and OECD reports point out that Europe still depends heavily on non-European companies for cloud hosting, digital identity systems, AI models and the raw materials and chips that power hardware. Eurosky is intended as one component of a more accountable ecosystem. It proposes a shared social networking layer that public bodies, civil society organisations and approved independent hosts can operate. It also explores links with emerging European digital identity frameworks, data portability standards and governance structures designed to avoid both corporate and state capture.

Alongside Eurosky, the Fediverse has become a practical demonstration of decentralised social infrastructure. It is built around the ActivityPub protocol (https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub), which allows different services to communicate with each other. Platforms such as Mastodon (https://mastodon.social) and PeerTube (https://joinpeertube.org) show how thousands of independently hosted servers can form a single network without any central owner. Each server can set its own moderation rules and community guidelines, and users can still interact across servers because they share the same protocol. This creates a more resilient and community governed environment for social communication.

Cities have also experimented with public-interest digital tools. Barcelona’s long running platform Decidim (https://decidim.org) provides an open source system for public participation. Residents can make proposals, take part in consultations and follow decisionmaking processes in a transparent way. Decidim is jointly governed by the municipality, civic organisations and independent contributors. Although it is not a social network, it shows how public institutions can steward digital platforms in ways that give communities meaningful influence.

There are also ecosystem support organisations that maintain and host open tools. Framasoft (https://framasoft.org) in France provides hosting, training resources and free alternatives to commercial software. In India, the India Stack digital public infrastructure programme (https://www.indiastack.org) provides open identity, payments and data exchange systems that can be used by both the public sector and independent developers. These initiatives differ in purpose and governance models, but they reflect a shared approach that prioritises transparency, interoperability and long-term public value.

Taken together, these projects point toward a distinct model of digital environment. Publicinterest social infrastructure is built on open standards, shared governance and distributed hosting rather than concentrated corporate control. The specific implementations vary, but the direction is consistent. The aim is to create digital spaces where power, influence and accountability can be shared rather than captured.