If you have been using social media platforms in the last decade, you have probably noticed that they are fumbling. This has been most apparent on Twitter. From arbitrary censoring of competitor links in tweets, to nonstop bots and spam across platforms, to arbitrary banning or sudden changes in API access — using Twitter has never been so miserable.

We don’t even want to single out Twitter. The problem is not about Elon acting as the world’s richest troll. The root of these problems is fundamental; one that has to do with centralized applications’ monopolistic nature.

When you use a centralized social app, your social graph (the entirety of your experience on the platform) exists at the whims of those who control the platform. Users feel locked into that application even when the app’s interests clearly don’t align with theirs. Unfortunately for centralized social media companies, this state of affairs will probably never change. The incentives to control the platforms are too powerful to resist. Thankfully, DeSocial protocols may offer users a way out of this arbitrary mess of social feudalism.