In the current geopolitical situation, what will it take to create a truly free Internet

No one has developed a stronger solution to Tor, what people in Iran call a true free internet with the strongest untraceable encryption. This is a problem that needs a solution and something I want to try to develop, is it possible to build upon Tor but using crypto linktree architecture of blockchain within browser to truly protect anonymity, is that a possibility? This is how I discovered NYM, I am a newbie but I just recently learned about your research with Decentralized Private Networks to prevent data collection and higher speeds. What drew me here is the mixnet, mixnet architecture, which is designed specifically to defeat the “global adversary” (those who can see all traffic entering and leaving a network) that Tor currently struggles against. Thinking about the ultimate fail safe in this situation has lead me to think out of the box….:thinking: so for anyone working within the mixnet research, could this idea be the solution to help those in our world to experience true freedom. This is interesting, public blockchain addresses could be encoded into a new format similar to an MD5 checksum and metadata could be stored in redacted vaults to limit no information leakage. It needs to be unbreakable and the simplest is moving Blockchain addresses and metadata offline using airgap, because the data is not constantly online it limits a small window for interception to even see it or hack it. This architecture addresses the two main failure points of current systems: linkability (tying your activity to your identity) and persistence (giving censors a constant target to monitor).

Building a “crypto linktree” with air-gapped metadata is my bold, high-security approach. Public blockchain addresses could use Stealth Addresses or One-Time Hashed Identifiers.

To expand on an idea I’ve been developing on of a Faraday Cage data server to stop intrusion, airgap is the first step because you cant hack something that isn’t online. Moving the sensitive “map” of the network offline. By storing the “Linktree” (the directory of active, safe nodes) in an air gapped vault, the most critical data is never physically connected to the internet. Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs (zk-SNARKs), the browser can prove it has permission to access a node without ever “seeing” or transmitting the node’s actual metadata (like its IP or location). You would use a “Sneakernet” method—transferring tiny, encrypted metadata packets via QR codes or microSD cards between your online browser and your offline “Vault” device. :slightly_smiling_face: I am leaving this research and information here :green_circle: for those who can take it and continue on this idea. I have some data skills but not the level needed for this to go where it needs too.

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Hi, my two cents… Classic Mixnets do not use nor need a blockchain. The Nym Mixnet is not decentralized, it is centralized, because all nodes run under the hood of the publicity reachable Nym Network Explorer. The Nym Mixnet would be decentralized if we had multiple Mixnets in different locations, which could interact with each other. You make things way too complicated with your proposal. A solution for perfect anonymous email is to combine the Tor Network with the Nym Mixnet, as I have done recently with Project Nike. I am following privacy/anonymity projects for more than three decades and I think I have a good overview. Nym is very promising, but should not been seen as final solution. Also to consider is looking at the components and infrastructure of Nym it is more pseudonymous than anonymous, due to registering clients with a Nym address, which is not common in classic Mixnets when using Tor Hidden Services mix nodes, like in the Onion Courier Mixnet. Another and very effective anonymous solution is running your very own anonymous infrastructure is to do something like this. And because competition is good for end users of such networks, let’s see how Katzenpost evolves. HTH.

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To keep it short. I truly believe this has to happen:

A truly free Internet will only exist when:

  • Connectivity has multiple redundant paths, and

  • No single actor can deplatform, defund, or disconnect you, and

  • Rights-based constraints exist on both states and platforms, with real transparency and appeals.

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