The development of peer-to-peer technologies, both from the hardware transport layer (5G, large satellite constellations) and software (IPv6 fixed addresses, distributed and redundant file storage, self-hosting appliances) provide the prerequisites for getting away from the centralised “data silos” which have emerged and a network which has points at which content censoring and/or surveillance can be imposed. But whether these technologies will be allowed to mature and flourish or be eradicated in their infancy by coercive states is very much uncertain today. The hope was that they would develop “under the radar” and become ubiquitous and unstoppable before the legacy powers realised the threat and mobilised to attack it, much as happened with open access to the Internet and encryption technology for privacy in the 1990s.
But there is cause for concern this time. See my recent post on the main page, “U.S. Sanctions Tornado Cash, Dutch Arrest Software Developer. Begun, the Crypto Wars Have”. This is a stunning example of attempting to criminalise software development, use of software tools, and the developers who write the software.