Non-Stoppable Internet Campaign
Continuous connectivity is a human right. When the internet is shut down, people's voices must not be silenced. We call on all messaging platforms, social media platforms, and operating systems to implement a shared offline mesh protocol (Human Mesh Protocol) so that people can communicate with one another even during a complete internet shutdown. In the past, projects such as Bitchat Mesh, Bridgefy, and Briar have existed. Although these solutions have demonstrated that the idea is feasible, they are not installed on all phones, they rely on closed and isolated systems, and they lack interoperability with other applications and platforms; therefore, they have had limited impact in real-world crises.
The Human Mesh Protocol is designed with the goal of creating a shared, open, and interoperable communication layer for resilient peer-to-peer and delay-tolerant networking, and pursues the following objectives:
- Enable communication between phones without reliance on continuous internet access, so that devices can connect directly to one another via technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and communicate during partial or complete internet disruptions.
- Transfer data and packets in a multi-hop, delay-tolerant manner between devices, so that any message or data can pass through multiple phones and eventually reach an internet-connected node when available.
- Not limited to text messages, but also enables the transfer of files, images, audio, short videos, and essential or practical data, with tolerance for delayed delivery when real-time transmission is not possible.
- Enable optional and controlled indirect access to the internet, meaning that a device connected to the internet can, subject to user consent and platform policies, act as a gateway for others.
- Be designed as a shared and open protocol layer, so that all operating systems, messaging platforms, and applications can implement it and without dependency on a single vendor or product.
- Create interoperability between applications, so that data and messages are not confined to one application and can be transferred across different programs, while respecting application-level security models and boundaries such as explicit trust boundaries, least-privilege access, and platform-enforced security policies.
- Be activatable at the operating system or application level, allowing users, through an informed and explicit opt-in choice, to enable their device as a consumer or provider of connectivity within the Human Mesh network, in alignment with platform capabilities.
- Have a transparent and voluntary economic model, including optional or non-monetary incentive mechanisms, so that devices that share their bandwidth or internet connection with others can receive compensation, without imposing mandatory payment structures.
- Preserve user security and privacy by default, with minimal metadata exposure, without exposing IP addresses, without requiring trust in central servers, through end-to-end encryption and full user control and consent over participation in the network.
- Serve as a communication infrastructure during crises, censorship, and internet shutdowns, not to replace the internet, but to complement existing services and prevent the complete loss of human communication.
