Two major open web initiatives—Project Liberty and Solid—could be joining forces to redefine how users control their digital identities and data. At SXSW 2025, entrepreneur Frank McCourt, the founder of Project Liberty, revealed that discussions have been taking place with Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and the driving force behind Solid. While no official partnership has been announced, the possibility of integration between these two projects could mark a turning point in the movement toward a more decentralized and user-centric internet.
What Are Project Liberty and Solid?
Project Liberty
Project Liberty is a broad initiative focused on building open internet infrastructure that prioritizes user control and data privacy. At its core is the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP), a framework designed to enable interoperable, decentralized social networks where individuals—not corporations—own and manage their data.
McCourt’s organization has been making waves in the tech world, even considering a bid for TikTok, signaling its ambition to challenge the dominance of big tech platforms.
Solid and Inrupt
Solid, an open-source project founded by Tim Berners-Lee, is designed to give users control over their data through Personal Online Data Stores (Pods). These Pods enable individuals to store their personal information securely and decide how it is shared with various applications.
To help commercialize and scale the project, Berners-Lee co-founded Inrupt, a company focused on bringing Solid’s principles into enterprise applications. Inrupt has launched a privacy-centric platform, allowing organizations to implement user-controlled data storage solutions.
What’s Driving the Potential Partnership?
At SXSW 2025, McCourt stated that his team had been in discussions with Berners-Lee and noted that Project Liberty is compatible with Solid. While he stopped short of announcing a formal collaboration, he teased the possibility of integrating Solid’s data storage technology into Project Liberty’s ecosystem.
A Shared Vision for the Future of the Web
Both initiatives share a common goal:
Empowering users with control over their data
Breaking the monopoly of big tech companies over digital identities
Creating an interoperable, decentralized web
Berners-Lee has also expressed his support for Project Liberty’s efforts to decentralize the internet, even endorsing its bid for TikTok. “The web I invented was to provide power and value to individuals, which they do not have at the moment,” he stated.
Potential Impact of a Collaboration
If Project Liberty and Solid officially partner, the implications could be profound:
- Enhanced User Data Ownership
Integrating Solid’s Pod-based data storage with Project Liberty’s DSNP could create a powerful model where users own and manage their social and personal data without relying on centralized platforms.
- Interoperability Across Decentralized Platforms
A unified framework combining DSNP and Solid Pods could provide a seamless way for decentralized apps (dApps) to function across multiple platforms, fostering greater adoption of open web technologies.
- Competition Against Big Tech
By enabling users to move their data freely between apps and social networks, this partnership could weaken the hold that major tech giants have over personal data and digital identities.
- Strengthening Privacy and Security
Solid’s approach to data sovereignty, combined with Project Liberty’s decentralized infrastructure, could significantly enhance privacy protections for users worldwide.
Challenges Ahead
While the potential for collaboration is exciting, there are challenges to address:
Technical Integration: Ensuring that DSNP and Solid Pods work seamlessly together will require significant development effort.
Adoption and Scale: Encouraging users and developers to shift away from centralized platforms is an ongoing challenge.
Regulatory and Legal Hurdles: Decentralized data storage must comply with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA, adding complexity to implementation.