Vitalik Buterin Warns Against 'Corposlop' and Advocates for Sovereign Web

• Corposlop exploits attention and data, eroding user value; Vitalik urges rejecting it for a sovereign, privacy-driven web.
• Sovereign web tools like local-first apps, DAOs, and user-controlled feeds empower autonomy and digital self-sovereignty.
• Global tech shifts demand energy, mineral, and AI sovereignty; hands-on skills and local communities will redefine value.

The digital landscape is entering a pivotal era, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is urging users to reject “corposlop” and embrace a sovereign web. In a recent post on X, Vitalik emphasized the growing divide between corporately dominated platforms and independent, user-empowering ecosystems.

He highlighted that understanding this separation is crucial for the future of online freedom and digital privacy. According to Vitalik, Bitcoin maximalists recognized early on the need to keep financial networks sovereign.

However, many attempted this through restrictive measures, which inadvertently limited innovation. Vitalik explained, “Corposlop includes things like social media that maximizes dopamine, outrage, other methods of short-term engagement at the expense of long-term value and fulfillment.”

Besides addictive content, corposlop involves mass data collection, monopolistic platforms, and homogenized cultural trends. Moreover, it often cloaks profit-driven motives under the guise of social responsibility, eroding genuine value for users.

Vitalik contrasted this with Apple, praising its privacy focus and trend-setting vision, while lamenting monopolistic practices. “Man must live for something higher than market caps,” he noted, urging companies to adopt open-source-first strategies.

The sovereign web, Vitalik argued, empowers individuals through privacy and control. He suggested tools like local-first applications, user-controlled social media feeds, and financial products that discourage risky speculation.

Additionally, DAOs can provide autonomous governance for communities without tokenholder capture. Consequently, users can protect both digital privacy and personal autonomy.

Vitalik emphasized, “Be sovereign. Reject corposlop. Believe in something.” His vision aligns closely with recent predictions by Tom Kruise, who forecasts a fragmented internet consisting of the open web, fortress web, and sovereign web.

Kruise envisions a future where energy, resource, and computer sovereignty become huge factors in geopolitics. Nations and businesses are in a competition for domestic dominance in the realms of energy, minerals, and artificial intelligence.

These reasons make for a very intense environment for independence in technology. Kruise stressed that ‘hard’ skills in labor, cybersecurity, and high-quality human skills would beat ‘polished’ content, even if this is created by artificial intelligence.

Consequently, micro-schools, apprenticeships, and boutique learning will replace traditional universities. Moreover, local communities and physical neighborhoods will self-organize around shared values rather than proximity alone.

The resulting wisdom of both Vitalik and Kruise is a beginning indication of what the next decade is likely to face – a decade of digital and physical sovereignty. The need for privacy-first alternatives, decentralized decision-making, and a resistance towards the homogeneous corporate culture is the only way for individuals and organizations to move forward. In this new era of a convergent virtual and real world, resisting the phenomenon of corposlop is imperative.