P2P Foundation: The Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives is an organization with the aim of studying the impact of peer to peer technology and thought on society. It was founded by Michel Bauwens, James Burke and Brice Le Blévennec. The P2P Foundation is a registered institute founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its local registered name is: Stichting Peer to Peer Alternatives, dossier nr: 34264847.
Mission
The P2P Foundation is an ANBI status non-profit organization and global network studying the social, economic and ecological impact of commons-based peer production. It was conceived to "help people, organizations and governments transition towards commons-based approaches to society through co-creating an open knowledge commons and a resilient, sustainable human network." It functions as an organized network to facilitate and interconnect emergent commons-based initiatives by gathering information and researching and theorizing on the social impacts of peer to peer technologies and social relations. The P2P Foundation's strategic priorities include working towards regenerative practices to end biosphere destruction and promoting free knowledge and cultural exchange. It won the Golden Nica Award for "The Next Idea" 2011 and for "Digital Communities" in 2016.
Knowledge Commons
The P2P Foundation maintains a number of websites including an open access wiki and daily blog, as well as an interactive, didactic website with introductory materials and infographics. The P2P Lab website features research projects undertaken by the P2P Foundation's research division. Many of the P2P Foundation's publications can be found in its Library Page.
Nakamoto controversy
, the creator of bitcoin, released one of the first papers describing bitcoin on the p2p website. When Newsweek ran an article claiming Nakamoto is Dorian S. Nakamoto from Temple City, California, Nakamoto's user profile posted that he was not Dorian. The p2p foundation verified that the account was the same account that posted one of the first papers describing bitcoin. On September 2014, Nakamoto's p2p account was allegedly hacked and a post was made to his account that said his information was being sold on Darknet.
Chokepoint Project
The Chokepoint project was established in 2011 following the Internet blackouts in Egypt and Libya. The internet blackouts inspired two members of the P2P Foundation, James Burke and Chris Pinchen, to create the Chokepoint Project. The project's aim is to create a live visual map of the internet that identifies Chokepoints and people holding access to these Chokepoints. Chokepoints are defined as points of Internet access vulnerability. This map would potentially allow people to identify the degree and precise location of internet outages. Much of the data used for the mapping is supplied by volunteers. The Chokepoint project also works to dispel the assumption that the internet is a decentralized medium that is not subject to government power. For those who are subject to internet blackouts, the Chokepoint projects also provides methods of circumventing these chokepoints and information on legal matters regarding the internet blackouts. The Chokepoint project was awarded the Prix Arts Electronica in May 2011 in the Next Idea category.
