Politicians.social: a not-for-profit plan for Australia's civic Fediverse

Politicians.social is a plan for a mission-driven social enterprise that helps restore trust in political discussion online. It uses the Fediverse to give federal politicians, journalists and citizens a secure, transparent and decentralised place to talk, without profit-driven algorithms or billionaire-controlled moderation getting in the way.

Most platforms outsource their architecture to global monopolies. Politicians.social is committed to sovereign technical capability instead: Australian engineers building on open-source foundations (Linux and FOSS), so the infrastructure of our democracy is owned, operated and understood by Australians.

What the Fediverse is, and why it matters

The Fediverse is a global, decentralised network of independently run social media servers that talk to each other using open protocols like ActivityPub. On X or Facebook, one company owns the hardware, the data and the rules. The Fediverse works more like email: you pick a provider (an “instance”) that shares your values, and you can still follow and talk with people on entirely different servers.

That removes central points of failure and corporate monopolies. No single company can silence voices or steer public opinion with opaque algorithms, and people keep more control over their digital identity and what they see. It’s the technical foundation for a public square that’s resilient, interoperable and community-governed.

Why politicians should join

For elected officials, today’s social media is volatile and unreliable. A dedicated Fediverse server gives them back ownership of their online presence. They can talk directly with constituents in a high-signal space, free of bot-driven harassment and commercial surveillance, where the focus is policy and public service rather than engagement metrics that reward division.

Why a not-for-profit social enterprise

A not-for-profit social enterprise is the only structure that ties the platform’s survival to the public interest. Without pressure to maximise shareholder value, it can put privacy, ethical moderation and long-term stability first. Revenue from transparent subscriptions or institutional grants goes back into infrastructure and safety, so the platform stays a public utility rather than a data-mining operation. It also grows Australian jobs and technical expertise here at home.

A phased roll-out, with verification

To keep integrity high, people join in tiers:

1. Verified federal politicians, a core of authenticated, high-trust accounts that anchor the platform’s credibility (au.politicians.social).
2. Accredited journalists, bringing in the press for factual reporting and real-time accountability (journo.host.au).
3. State and local officials, connecting national policy and local government (vic.au.politicians.social, nsw.au.politicians.social).
4. The general public, through existing servers such as aus.social, local community servers like locals.portphillip.vic.aus.social, and organisation servers like nedfoundation.org.au for small groups that want verification on the Fediverse.

Moderation you control, with the whole network’s reach

A dedicated, professional moderation team that understands political speech and safety is one of the biggest advantages. Local community standards stay strict, to prevent abuse and misinformation, yet members still get the network effect of the wider Fediverse: a curated safe haven that isn’t cut off from the global conversation.

Structure: a company limited by guarantee

To operate Australia-wide, the right structure is a company limited by guarantee (CLG). It’s a national entity regulated by ASIC and the ACNC, so there’s no need to register in every state, and it’s the structure serious grant-makers and government bodies expect from a professional social enterprise.

It has a board of directors. In keeping with democratic and Mastodon values, the constitution would have directors elected by the members, such as the journalists and civil society members on the platform.

A mission lock in the constitution

To keep the organisation true to Doughnut Economics, open source and democracy, those principles get written into the constitution:

• Objects clause: the company exists to “advance the security and integrity of Australia’s democratic discourse through the provision of open-source, decentralised digital infrastructure.”
• Doughnut clause: a social and environmental responsibility clause requiring the board to consider the ecological ceiling (such as carbon-neutral hosting) and the social foundation (such as accessibility and safety) in every procurement and operational decision.
• Asset lock: if the company ever closes, all assets (code, data and funds) must go to another not-for-profit with similar open-source and democratic goals. That rules out a Twitter-style private buyout.

The road map

1. Draft the constitution with the mission lock and not-for-profit clauses, meeting ACNC requirements for a charity.
2. Incorporate with ASIC as a company limited by guarantee (at least three directors and a secretary).
3. Register with the ACNC as a charity, under “advancing security or safety of Australia” or “advancing education” (digital literacy and democracy).
4. Apply for tax concessions: once registered, the ATO grants income tax exemption and GST concessions.
5. Seek DGR endorsement, the last and hardest step, likely with a specialist not-for-profit lawyer framing the harm-prevention or educational work to meet the ATO’s criteria.

Draft objects

The company would be a non-partisan social enterprise operating for the public benefit, with these objects:

Advance democratic integrity and public discourse. Provide secure, transparent, decentralised infrastructure for civic communication in Australia; foster a healthy online public square that values facts, accountability and respectful engagement between elected officials and the public; and protect democratic institutions by reducing coordinated inauthentic behaviour, misinformation and algorithmic manipulation.

Steward federated, open-source infrastructure. Run a social media server on open protocols such as ActivityPub that works with the global Fediverse; support open-source software and open standards that empower users and prevent corporate monopolies over public data; and ensure data sovereignty for Australian users through transparent data management and privacy by design.

High-trust verification and anti-impersonation. Run a multi-tier verification framework, prioritising federal representatives and candidates, then accredited journalists and public-interest media, then state and local officials, then civil society organisations and community leaders, and give the public reliable ways to tell official accounts from unverified or parody ones.

Promote public-interest journalism and civic institutions. Support a free press with a platform for verified news where journalists can engage safely with the public and officials, and work with civic institutions on digital literacy and understanding of democratic processes.

Operate on regenerative economic principles. Apply Doughnut Economics: a strong social foundation (safety, inclusion and voice) within ecological ceilings (carbon-neutral hosting and ethical procurement), with every surplus reinvested in the mission, infrastructure and moderation rather than paid to shareholders.

Independent, accountable moderation. Human-led moderation, independent of government and political parties, balancing local control with the benefits of the global Fediverse.

Build Australian technical capability. Recruit, train and employ Australian-based engineers to build and run the core infrastructure, so the keys to the kingdom, and the know-how to use them, stay in Australian hands. Contribute improvements, security fixes and new work back to the global open-source commons, and partner with Australian educators and community groups to train the next generation of civic technologists in Linux, networking and systems architecture in the service of democracy.