ethereumworldnews.com
Quick take:
- The EOS based social media platform of Voice is in Beta testing with only registered users allowed to publish.
- The full launch of the platform is slated for mid-August.
- The need for decentralized social media comes at a time when Apple, Amazon, Google and facebook have been accused of censorship.
Early in the month of July, the EOS based social media platform of Voice was launched with registered users being the first to participate in the Beta testing of the platform. According to the platform’s CEO, Salah Zalatimo, registration is by request only until August 15th when existing users can begin inviting their friends.
The Launch of Voice Comes at a Time When Censorship on Social Media is Rampant
Furthermore, in a June 6th Tweet, Mr. Zalatimo explained that the time was nigh for users to take back control from big tech. He explained this as follows.
We had been building towards a big reveal this fall. But, we simply can’t wait any longer. We need to take social back from big tech NOW. So, we did what startups do.
His statements come at a time when the leaders of the big 4 technology companies of Amazon, Apple, facebook and Google, are testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee with respect to how their companies and respective online platforms, might have become too big for their own good.
Lately, these platforms have been accused of censorship as can be seen in the Tweet below regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID19.
After 4 mos of appeals since it was taken down, Google finally uncensored our initial paper on HCQ in treatment of COVID-19.https://t.co/gCgJDxhAjV
It’s strange Google reversed this decision IMMEDIATELY before appearing in front of congress today to discuss censorship.
Advertisement— James Todaro, MD (@JamesTodaroMD) July 30, 2020
Voice Requires a Selfie When Creating an Account
One key element of the Voice social media platform is that users will be rewarded with Voice tokens for posting quality content.
However, the platform is not running on the EOS mainnet but rather, a private version of the network. The FAQ section of the platform provides the following explanation regarding the backend of the platform.
Voice uses the open source EOSIO protocol and the inherent characteristics of blockchain technology to promote trusted and transparent social interactions. Voice also uses state-of-the-art biometric authentication technology to verify that every account created on the platform belongs to a real, living person—no bots or spam accounts.
The last part of the above statement has caught the attention of those who value their online privacy. As much as Voice strives to prove that every user is indeed a person and not a bot, it means that content creators will have to part with a portion of their identity information to get access to the platform. In the case of Voice, one will have to provide a selfie in addition to the usual name and email address requirement.
The team at Voice explains this further as follows.
To ensure that you are a real, living human being, Voice only requires a selfie, which is checked to verify that you are a person and that you do not already have a Voice account. This selfie check helps to eliminate bots and spam accounts, fostering an authentic, transparent, and honest community.