‘Code for the People’ confronts web crisis
A new documentary titled 'Code for the People' explores the risks posed by centralized digital platforms and closed AI systems to the open internet. The project advocates for a return to open-source principles to ensure the web remains accessible and free.
Why it matters
The debate over open-source versus proprietary AI and platform control is central to the future of digital infrastructure and information access.
A new documentary warns that growing control by major platforms and closed AI systems could undermine the open internet.
“We have traded a free internet for a collection of walled gardens,” says Automattic, the web development company that funded and produced the film. “Today, a handful of digital landlords use algorithms to dictate our reality, while closed AI threatens to change the ways we connect. We are at a breaking point: we can either let gatekeepers continue to consolidate their power, or we can reclaim the open source spirit that built the web in the first place.”
Code for the People examines the past, present and contested future of the open web. The short explores how decisions made today could shape the internet and argues that public action is needed to protect online openness.
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