As the Internet continues to evolve, so does the need for more open, transparent, and decentralized technologies that ensure long-term access to knowledge and safeguard individual privacy. Fight For the Future (FFtF) has been a key advocate in advancing these ideals, working to protect digital rights and promote a web that empowers users.

Now, through a collaboration with Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW), FFtF is expanding its efforts to build creative solutions that fight to preserve knowledge and protect human rights with the power of decentralized technologies. Together, FFDW and FFtF aim to mitigate the power imbalances that enable centralized technologies to thrive  –– advancing the fight for digital freedom and an equitable, open web.

FFtF recently wrapped up a call for short stories to reshape narratives around centralized surveillance technologies. They invited writers to challenge the portrayal of surveillance as a tool for public good and safety, offering a platform to reimagine how technology and the power to control it can support human rights and justice.

In this Q&A, we sit down with Lia Holland, campaigns and communications director at Fight for the Future, to explore the significance of this collaboration, their vision for a decentralized web, and how storytelling can help change the future of technology.

Can you tell us about the mission behind FFtF and how it aligns with the goals of the decentralized web (DWeb)?

FFtF is a queer women- and artist-led organization that’s working for a rights-affirming tech future. I like to think of myself as a bit of an Internet mean girl, packing an outsized punch when technology –– and the policies that govern it –– erode our human rights. We do this through legislative campaigns, corporate accountability campaigns, and thought leadership on the intersection of emerging tech with the experiences of queer, Black and brown, low-income, artistic, and other traditionally under-respected communities here in the U.S.

Through this work, it’s become clear that big tech’s priorities are often in conflict with building technology systems that protect individual rights. That’s why we’re so jazzed about technologies that the DWeb community is working on.

Many of the best conversations about the future of technology are happening in the DWeb space, making it a privilege to defend against bad tech policies. We’ve spent the past couple of years pushing back against attacks on the right to privacy, the right to code, and the right to contribute to open source tech projects.

Can you share a little more about FFtF's advocacy work?

FFtF is at the forefront of digital rights advocacy, actively working to combat harmful legislation that threatens privacy and the right to code. In 2021, we launched the #DontKillCrypto campaign in response to misguided cryptocurrency provisions in the 2021 U.S. infrastructure bill. FFtF mobilized massive public opposition, generating over 40,000 calls and thousands of emails to lawmakers, and in response, Senators Wyden and Lummis introduced a bill to override the worst of these provisions, with additional support from a coalition in the House. FFtF continues to advocate for these legislative fixes, emphasizing that truly private and decentralized cryptocurrencies may be a crucial stepping stone toward a future where power is decentralized, and we can choose collectively to prioritize human rights and community-driven solutions.

What role do decentralized technologies play in protecting privacy and freedom of expression online?

Decentralized technologies are increasingly vital in protecting privacy and freedom of expression online. These technologies distribute control and ownership across multiple users rather than centralizing them within a single authority, making it harder for governments or corporations to infringe on individual privacy.

It’s quite exciting to me that decentralized tools can be used to defend the principles of freedom of expression and access to knowledge, liberties that are crucial in empowering people and communities worldwide. By protecting these rights, decentralized technologies are clear tools for carving our path toward a resilient digital ecosystem where people maintain control over their personal data and choices, free from undue surveillance or censorship.

FFtF has been a champion for privacy, coordinating a coalition of more than 40 privacy-focused organizations to call for legislative actions that safeguard privacy, decentralize power, and promote privacy technologies, stressing that privacy is a core human right that must be upheld for democracy to thrive.

As we move forward, defending these tools and their developers is essential to fostering a secure, democratic, and liberatory digital future for all.

You just ran a call for short stories aimed at addressing the harm caused by centralized surveillance technologies. Can you tell us more about this initiative and its significance?

One of the most valuable tools we have as human rights activists is storytelling. For many people, the harms and threats of technology don’t become real until you’re able to point to a real scenario that pulls at their heartstrings. This is true when it comes to encouraging everyday people to call their representatives about an Internet bill, all the way up to how President Biden changed his approach to AI after seeing Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning.

To wield this power, FFtF and many of our allies strategically hone our storytelling skills to support communication on crucial issues. We’ve gotten quite good at it.

But one of the challenges that we’re up against is stories that uncritically normalize technologies, like facial recognition, that put more power in the hands of centralized organizations. The reality is that many emerging technologies –– from AI to facial recognition –– also introduce complex challenges. They often reinforce existing inequalities and consolidate control among few players, raising important questions about accountability, civil and human rights, and who truly benefits from technological advancement.

These stories explore new perspectives when it comes to writing about centralized surveillance technologies. The first step is gathering short stories from authors who are already doing the work and telling stories that further human rights narratives around tech.

How will this project incorporate decentralized technologies, including IPFS and Filecoin?

From these stories, we’ll create an accessible, decentralized toolkit for writers and readers that will be published in COMPOST, a DWeb native magazine that leverages the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) to empower authors and amplify free expression worldwide. Any storyteller will be able to tap into this toolkit to explore how they might craft narratives that challenge common assumptions and more closely reflect our lived experience. As storytellers, we should invest collectively in making room for a more rights-affirming future that encourages privacy, choice, and many voices.

What advice would you give to creators or activists who want to contribute to the fight for a more just and decentralized web through storytelling or technology?

Imagine alternatives. Point to alternatives. Celebrate alternatives and try to get them implemented in your own communities and lives. Even a small shift of living our digital lives a different way by using just one open source, privacy-preserving, or decentralized technology can teach us a lot about what the future could look like and reduce stigma around everything from Signal to privacy coins. Normalization is a double-edged sword that my organization constantly confronts when dealing with residential surveillance networks and similar technologies. This experience has taught us the power of intentionally discussing and using the kinds of technology we want to see in our future.

No matter how we feel about the state of tech today, we need to be asking — what tools can we have in the future that aren’t about concentrating power, but about building healthier, more resilient technology? And what gets us there?