How you can help build a better internet
We are developing a new, civic layer of the internet, where participants will be held to the highest standards of trust, permanence and accountability.
Our goal is to empower and protect citizens, not exploit them.
This will require digital infrastructure, and the creation of a range of new standards, tools, and solutions.
You can help support this urgent and essential work.
Why this matters now
We all know the internet is far from what we hoped it would be, and getting worse. Misinformation is rife. AI "slop" is drowning out legitimate sources of information. Our privacy is invaded, our personal information sold to the highest bidder. Social media spirals into abuse. Scams and hackers and "deepfakes" proliferate.
It no longer feels safe.
You can't fully trust anything you watch or read.
But a fully funded and operational dotPublic is the answer: a new civic domain for the digital age.
What is the plan?
Our plan is rigorous, technical and phased, with clear milestones and deliverables.
The initial research and build phase comprises a framework of interconnected but sequential elements. Each can be supported independently, but together they form the first end-to-end foundation for a functioning digital public space.
Foundations stage
Element 1 – Scope
Establishes the testing framework, measures the trust gap across public institutions, and maps transition from pilot to national to global adoption, or to stopping entirely if the model fails.
Element 2 – Standards
Defines the rules across nine categories and three tiers through public consultation, stress-testing etc. Also determines what is needed so that Basic takes 4 days, Enhanced takes 4 weeks, and Advanced takes 4 months.
Element 3 – Governance
Establishes the constitutional framework preventing institutional capture, with multi-stakeholder decision-making, transparent enforcement, working appeals processes, and 'forkability' guarantees.
Element 4 – Operating model
Produces financial projections showing what dotPublic costs to run, how expenses scale with adoption, and how the system sustains itself beyond pilot funding.
Build stage
Element 5 – Design for trust
Creates the visual and non-visual identity making dotPublic accreditation meaningful to real people, signalling clearly when users are in safe environments versus the open web.
Element 6 – Tools
Builds the suite of open-source software making readiness checking, build and compliance easy to reduce costs for individuals and institutions, including automated checkers, replacement infrastructure for prohibited commercial tools, and CMS plugins.
Element 7 – Provenance infrastructure
Proof-of-concept to test whether DOI registration works at scale, whether continuous monitoring is achievable, and whether the model breaks when applied to frequently updated material e.g. news.
Testing stage
Element 8 – Working pilot
Runs three organisational types through real-world implementation with genuine users, producing honest evidence about whether the 4 days, 4 weeks, 4 months structure works or is unrealistic.
The first four months produce no visible output beyond standards and governance frameworks. Most visible delivery happens in months 6 to 18. The pilot evidence determines whether voluntary compliance works, whether architectural enforcement becomes necessary, or whether the model needs fundamental revision.
The completion of these elements will be the first, huge step towards the creation of a better, safer, more trustworthy internet for all.
How you can contribute
Funders
- Support one element or the integrated whole
- Enable independent evaluation and open publication of outputs so others can adopt and build on the work
- Help underwrite shared components – tooling, assurance, documentation – that reduce the burden for participating institutions
Partners
- Offer pilot participation: materials, services, implementation support, or operational testing
- Contribute technical expertise: security, identity, publishing systems, verification
- Contribute policy and standards expertise: accessibility, transparency, correction practice, governance
Please get in touch to discuss a contribution pathway – whether funding, your partnership capacity, or potential pilot participation.