Balaji Srinivasan's Network School acquired decentralized social network Farcaster from Neynar, marking Farcaster's second ownership change this year. Neynar acquired the platform from original developer Merkle Manufactory in January. Financial terms of the latest acquisition have not yet been released.
Neynar co-founder Rish said Thursday that Neynar is transferring the Farcaster app, protocol repositories and related products to Network School after considering several other offers. Rish said Farcaster needs a different operating model for the platform's next stage. Rish and fellow co-founder Manan will move on. Other Neynar employees will join Network School to continue developing Farcaster.
Neynar's January acquisition also included token launchpad Clanker. Rish's announcement did not mention what will happen to Clanker. GM Farcaster hosts Adrienne and NourishProf said on a Thursday stream that Rish was considering breaking Clanker apart and seeking a different acquirer.
An in-app announcement says Farcaster is becoming the "Network State Protocol." The Network State Protocol says its goal is to build opt-in digital societies that ultimately take physical form. Users are prompted to accept or decline a "social smart contract" requiring compliance with the app's new rules. Users who accept receive an access NFT confirming the choice onchain.
The rules call bannable offenses "digital felonies." The offenses include hate speech, death threats, scams, repeatedly starting fights, stalking users and presenting AI-generated content as the user's own work. Users who decline the contract will receive read-only access through the main app. Those users' keys, funds, followers and post histories will then be moved to another client.
The app plans to use AI moderation. The app also plans to gradually require users to verify that they are human to reduce bot activity. Several users on X reported being banned over posts about Elon Musk, Flock cameras and "gay appreciation" that were at least three months old. The bans have not been independently verified.
Farcaster Acquired by Balaji's Network School, Introduces 'Social Smart Contract'
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Summary
Balaji Srinivasan's Network School has acquired Farcaster from Neynar, introducing a 'social smart contract' as part of a network upgrade. The deal includes the app, protocol repositories, and related products. The new 'Network State Protocol' requires user compliance for access NFTs, with read-only access for those who decline. AI moderation and human verification are planned to cut bot activity. A protocol update will enforce the new rules.
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