Chelsea Manning, the WikiLeaks whistleblower, asserts that censorship remains a significant threat.

• Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, believes censorship remains a significant threat and advocates for a more decentralized internet to better safeguard individuals online.
• Some tech executives have recently pushed back against concerns regarding content moderation, amid ongoing tension over online safety rules.
• The challenge for whistleblowers today is to sift through the vast amount of information available and determine what is trustworthy and reliable.

Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, believes censorship remains a significant threat and advocates for a more decentralized internet to better safeguard individuals online.

Some tech executives have recently sought to challenge content moderation concerns, as her comments were made amid ongoing tension related to online safety rules.

At the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on Wednesday, Manning stated that decentralized identification could be a way to protect online privacy by allowing individuals to control their own data.

"Censorship poses a significant threat. The issue lies in determining who is censoring and the purpose behind it. In the 21st century, censorship is more about being boosted through algorithms and the fine-tuning of that process," Manning stated.

She remarked that social media and its monopolies have made us accustomed to the idea that content that boosts engagement will be visually appealing.

"One way to combat the centralization of the internet is to revert to the decentralized and distributed internet model of the early '90s, but make it accessible to more people."

Manning suggested that in order for tech companies to generate revenue in this situation, a "better social contract" must be established to establish guidelines for information sharing and access.

Manning explained that distributed or decentralized identification allows individuals to verify their identity through encryption, eliminating the need for a company to provide a checkbox or accept button. This decision is made from a technical standpoint.

'No longer secrecy versus transparency'

In 2013, Manning, a security consultant at Nym Technologies, was convicted of espionage and other charges at a court-martial for leaking classified military files to WikiLeaks.

In 2017, former U.S. President Barack Obama commuted her 35-year prison sentence.

Manning stated that the environment for whistleblowers has changed significantly due to the widespread availability of information, with more information being accessible than ever before.

Countries and governments now spend more time and energy spreading misinformation and disinformation instead of hiding information and keeping secrets.

Whistleblowers face the challenge of distinguishing between verifiable and authentic information, according to Manning.

"It's no longer secrecy versus transparency," she added.