As new technology becomes available to more and more end-users, our world is only becoming more interconnected. However, as the spread of such technology progresses, so does the reach of big tech.
Many of these companies now hold vast amounts of personal user data — information that includes a user’s location, their activity on third-party websites and even the contents of users’ emails — this is astonishing for those in a liberal democracy where concepts of freedom and social responsibility were both built upon expectations of privacy in one’s own communications.
As a result, your personal data may be subject to more than the stated monetization. Data tracking and the ability to censor individual users raises profound questions about the most basic precepts of our societies.
As awareness has grown around the failure of corporations to secure users’ data and the other uses to which their data has been put, people have begun to reject the sense that they are sheep to be fleeced as they go about the business of living and working in the digital age.
Sturdy old notions of personal sovereignty and the integrity of the private sphere should be honored, wherein individuals, consumers, innovators, thinkers and all other valuable members of society have the right to free and untethered anonymity if they choose.
In such a world, where interconnectivity greatly multiplies the possibility of encountering a malicious actor, this anonymity is critical, not only for the protection of rights and liberties but within the secure transactions of a digital economy.
The lack of personal sovereignty over data has resulted in a dramatic shift of power, away from the individual, to the corporations who have the power to use such information for their own benefit, and this often does not coincide with that of the one whose information they are using.
Addressing these concerns is the MASQ Network, a decentralized mesh network that was built to support a free and open internet. The network combines the functions of a virtual private network that keeps browsing data private by redirecting your internet connection through Tor-like technology and using free and open-source software that enables communication. The result is a next-generation privacy software that leverages blockchain technology in a leading-edge desktop application.
The MASQ Network platform is based on Ethereum (ETH) and allows users to connect to nodes worldwide, regardless of location. By participating in a secure network that is resistant to outside manipulation, users contribute to an uncensored global future while earning cryptocurrency rewards for their support.
Kauri Hero, the project lead and co-founder, describes the project by saying,
"MASQ Network represents an important project to push back against widespread censorship in modern society. It stands to share the freedom of the most unrestricted netizens with those whose online experience is the most censored."
Positive developments
When running MASQ, each user becomes a "node" that connects to other nodes in the network. These connections are established securely under encryption and are maintained without personal data being revealed across the network.
The team has released their GEMINI software on the Polygon Network (MATIC), which provides users with several benefits, including greatly reduced gas fees, fast transaction times of up to 7000 transactions per second, and the value of being secured by the Ethereum consensus model.
Currently, the team reports that the GEMINI v0.2 software has reached the 92% completion milestone. Current project dependencies include the ongoing code review, Polygon integration support, and hardening the accountant module for Blockchain Bridge scanning.
As a community-driven initiative, the project seeks opportunities to give back to this support system. This includes providing users with the opportunity to earn cryptocurrency deposited to a user’s MASQ Ethereum wallet when they share bandwidth on the mesh network and the user’s option to participate in the network’s liquidity pool to earn staking rewards.
Also known as Aludel reward programs, these rewards can be accessed on the Alchemist Crucible site. With positive trends in participation, the Gemini Aludel pool has been extended to Dec. 31, providing users with governance voting rights and high APY rewards that are believed to be greater than those of single-sided subscriptions.
Despite these positive developments, the project remains under the radar, as it is a community-driven initiative that is not dependent upon venture capital or the issuance of an ICO.
Achieving more freedom
The MASQ network doesn't end here. The team has a dedicated suite of features based on Web 3.0 that will soon be made available to all users.
As the team continues to make progress in the fight for a secure, anonymous future, their community can look forward to the introduction of a Polygon-based decentralized exchange (DEX), which will have large LP provisioned for users.
Their GEMINI software will be released publicly in phases, making it available for open testing and further innovation. There is also the "Veil Initiative" feature that will be revealed within the software release, a feature the team describes as a game changer for users in the crypto space.
Together, MASQ believes there is a possibility to bring a community into existence that is the foundation of a decentralized internet powered by its users.
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