Alternative internet(s)

Coordination

Stéphane COUTURE and Guillaume LATZKO-TOTH

Presentation

The concept of alternative internet, in the broadest sense, refers to socio-technical innovations driven by actors challenging the dominant industrial and commercial models that structure the contemporary ecosystem of digital media and infrastructures. This issue examines different facets and concrete manifestations of this desire for digital alternatives. The articles published here analyse a variety of initiatives and examine their role, their sometimes contradictory values, and their positioning in relation to the mechanisms and platforms of the mainstream internet. The opening article seeks to define what makes the alternative internet ‘alternative’, then reviews the issues and challenges entailed. The next two contributions focus on federated architectures; the first one addresses the development of Fediverse protocols and platforms such as ActivityPub and Mastodon, while the second one looks at their adoption by public authorities for the purpose of digital sovereignty, specifically in the case of Matrix/Element. This is followed by a study devoted to Wikimedia’s digital commons and their relationship with the platforms of mainstream internet (notably Google), along with an investigation into digital black markets that rely on the Darknet. The next article provides an overview of the emerging field of ‘alternative social media’ studies, with the aim of defining this subject of study. Finally, the issue concludes with a research note on the adoption of an alternative video distribution platform, PeerTube, in higher education.

Editorial board

Valérie BEAUDOUIN [valerie.beaudoin@ehess.fr]

Patrice FLICHY [patrice.flichy@u-pem.fr]

Editorial secretary

Aurélie BUR [aurelie.bur@enpc.fr]

Editorial committee: Jean-Samuel Beuscart, Dominique Cardon, Éric Dagiral, Fabienne Greffet, Virginie Julliard, Christian Licoppe, Benjamin Loveluck, Inna Lyubareva, Sylvie Octobre, Alban Ouahab, Sylvain Parasie, Franck Rebillard, Olivier Voirol

Scientific consultant: Alexandre Mathieu-Fritz

Cover copyright: Alt option symbol keyboard key button background and texture, side view par dule964

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