Network School, the organization founded by Balaji Srinivasan, has taken control of decentralized social platform Farcaster and begun reshaping it around stricter rules, shared conduct standards and a more curated online community.
The transition has already triggered criticism. On Thursday, the day Network School announced that it had acquired Farcaster from infrastructure provider Neynar and renamed it the Network State Protocol, several users said on X that their accounts had been reduced to “read-only” access. The restrictions were reportedly linked to posts published before the new rules took effect.
Kunal Gandhi, formerly Eigen Labs’ India ecosystem lead, criticized the decision, arguing that removing established users over historical posts conflicted with the culture of decentralized social media. His comments reflect the central tension in the takeover: Network School wants a more orderly and positive environment, while Farcaster users have traditionally valued the ability to participate without a single authority controlling the network.
According to Cointelegraph, Farcaster has changed hands for the second time this year. Co-founder Dan Romero said the platform had 250,000 monthly active users in December 2025.
Balaji’s vision for a more controlled social network
Srinivasan said the restrictions are part of a broader effort to make Farcaster “the Singapore of social media.” His stated aim is to build a community of technology-focused optimists operating under a common code of conduct.
In a post on Farcaster, he described the initial cleanup as an effort to restore what he considers basic offline standards of behavior. The new approach targets users who have repeatedly attracted blocks or mutes from others, with the stated objective of reducing personal attacks and disruptive conduct.
Srinivasan said the review covered millions of posts and involved both people and artificial intelligence. He also said users affected by the decisions can appeal, although the source material does not specify how many accounts were restricted or how many appeals have been filed.
The policy applies to earlier posts as well as content published after the acquisition. That retrospective element has become a major source of concern among members who argue that users should not be judged by rules introduced after their posts were made.
Rules, penalties and the role of decentralization
Network School’s model is based on what it calls a “social smart contract.” Users who opt into it authorize the core team to establish and enforce rules for the main application. Its accompanying Network Code divides violations into digital felonies, misdemeanors and infractions.
Possible penalties range from warnings and suspensions to permanent bans. The code also describes incentives for constructive activity, such as teaching other users, sharing projects and disagreeing respectfully. However, Network School has not explained what form those rewards will take.
The organization says an open-weight AI model will help enforce the code, supported by human decisions in some cases. Its longer-term plan is for the system to alert users before they publish content that could breach the rules.
The underlying Farcaster protocol is expected to remain open. Users who reject the new contract will have read-only access to the main application, but they will retain their cryptographic keys, funds, followers and posting history. They can therefore move to another client built on the protocol.
Srinivasan has characterized that arrangement as “decentralized democracy”: users can join, leave or create competing applications while the underlying network remains available. In practice, the dispute centers on the difference between an open protocol and a controlled reference app. Even if the protocol stays accessible, the main interface can still determine which users are able to post and which behavior is permitted there.
From online community to physical network
Network School’s ambitions extend beyond operating a social-media service. The organization says it eventually wants the community to develop through meetups and pop-up events, then grow into startup cities and network states.
The Farcaster acquisition follows a difficult period for Network School. Malaysian authorities revoked the organization’s Forest City business license and ordered it to stop operating there, citing alleged licensing and premises-use violations. Srinivasan later announced an agreement to establish a campus in Kazakhstan.
The new ownership therefore represents both a product reset for Farcaster and a broader test of Network School’s model. The organization is attempting to combine decentralized infrastructure with centralized rule-setting in the main app, while promising users a route to alternative clients if they disagree with those rules.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 21:43-21:44 on October 17, 2026, showed mixed performance among the listed assets:
- Aster (ASTER): $0.6987824161, down 1.26% over 24 hours and 1.76% over seven days.
- AI Rig Complex (ARC): $0.0388563252, up 9.57% over 24 hours but down 36.68% over seven days.
- Comedian (BAN): $0.0538515682, down 2.8% over 24 hours and 11.48% over seven days.
- RedStone (RED): $0.1370967001, down 6.35% over 24 hours and 9.08% over seven days.
These figures describe the selected assets at the stated time and do not indicate the future performance of Farcaster, Network State Protocol or any related project.
