Network School Acquires Farcaster and Sets New Rules

Network School announced on October 15 that it had acquired Farcaster from Neynar and would rename the decentralized social platform Network State Protocol. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed. The new owner also introduced rules for the main app, with some users reporting that their accounts had been restricted to read-only access over older posts. Under the announced system, users are asked to accept a social smart contract governing participation in the app. Those who decline retain read-only access through the main app but, according to Network School’s description, can keep their keys, funds, followers and post history and use another client. The underlying Farcaster protocol is to remain open. Network School’s accompanying Network Code sorts violations into digital felonies, misdemeanors and infractions, with penalties that can range from warnings to bans. The rules apply to posts made before as well as after their introduction. The company says an openweight artificial-intelligence model will help enforce them, alongside human judgment, and that it plans to develop warnings for potential violations before users post. Several users said on X that their accounts...