The means of communication within a network state are akin to its public halls and private meeting rooms. For a network state to thrive, it must provide both open, public spaces for consensus-building and private, secure environments for personal conversations. In this context, communication is not merely a utility but a foundational element of governance, social interaction, and community building.

Public Communication: The Open Hall

The public communication channels within the network state serve as the ”open hall” where individuals can freely participate in discussions, debates, and consensus-building processes. This public space is essential for transparency and collective decision-making, allowing members of the network state to express their ideas and opinions openly. For a truly decentralized and self-custodied network state, this public hall must be free from censorship and external control, ensuring that every voice can be heard without interference.

To ensure the self-custody of this communication space, the network state itself must manage the data, algorithms, and infrastructure that support public discourse. These public conversations and consensus-building processes must be hosted on machines that are self-custodied by the network state, meaning that the state has complete control over its communication channels without reliance on external platforms or entities. The algorithms that facilitate these discussions—whether for voting, content moderation, or participation tracking—must also run on these self-custodied machines, ensuring that no outside party can manipulate or censor the conversation.

Private Communication: The Secure Room

While public communication is critical for the functioning of the network state, individuals within it must also have access to private, secure communication channels. These private conversations, whether one-on-one or within small groups, are the ”secure rooms” of the network state, where sensitive discussions can occur without the risk of surveillance or unauthorized access.

In a decentralized network state, private communication is self-custodied just like public communication. The data exchanged in private conversations is stored securely on machines controlled by the network state, ensuring that no external entity can access or intercept it. The encryption and privacy protocols that govern these private communications are similarly run on the network state’s machines, providing end-to-end security and control over who has access to the conversation.

Custody of Data and Algorithms

The key to achieving self-custody of communication in a network state lies in the control of both the data and the algorithms that govern these interactions. Data from both public and private conversations must be stored on machines that are owned and operated by the network state itself, ensuring that no external entity can access, store, or manipulate this information.

Moreover, the algorithms that manage the flow of communication—whether it’s facilitating a public debate, encrypting a private message, or moderating content—must also be under the custody of the network state. These algorithms should be transparent, auditable, and controllable by the network’s members, ensuring that they reflect the values and principles of the community. This prevents any central authority or third party from controlling the means of communication, providing true self-custody of speech and information within the state.

The self-custody of communication is essential for maintaining both the public and private discourse necessary for a network state to function. By ensuring that the machines and algorithms powering communication are self-custodied, the network state provides a secure, transparent, and decentralized environment for its members. This custody enables free and open public consensus-building while also protecting the privacy of individuals within the network, creating a balanced system of communication that supports the network state’s decentralized structure.