<s>
Minds	O
is	O
an	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
and	O
distributed	O
social	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Writers	O
in	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
,	O
Engadget	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Vice	O
have	O
noted	O
the	O
volume	O
of	O
far-right	O
users	O
and	O
content	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Minds	O
was	O
co-founded	O
in	O
2011	O
by	O
Bill	B-Protocol
Ottman	I-Protocol
and	O
John	B-Protocol
Ottman	I-Protocol
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
social	O
networks	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
which	O
the	O
founders	O
believed	O
abused	O
their	O
users	O
via	O
"	O
spying	O
,	O
data	O
mining	O
,	O
algorithm	O
manipulation	O
,	O
and	O
no	O
revenue	O
sharing	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Facebook	B-Application
page	O
affiliated	O
with	O
the	O
hacktivist	O
group	O
Anonymous	O
encouraged	O
its	O
followers	O
to	O
support	O
Minds	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
and	O
called	O
for	O
developers	O
to	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
service	O
's	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
codebase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
over	O
150,000	O
Vietnamese	O
users	O
joined	O
Minds	O
after	O
fearing	O
that	O
Facebook	B-Application
would	O
comply	O
with	O
a	O
new	O
law	O
requiring	O
them	O
to	O
remove	O
political	O
dissent	O
and	O
release	O
user	O
data	O
to	O
the	O
Vietnamese	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
Minds	O
to	O
add	O
Thai	O
language	O
support	O
to	O
its	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
and	O
upgrade	O
its	O
servers	O
to	O
handle	O
the	O
influx	O
of	O
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2021	O
,	O
after	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
removed	O
tens	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
Trump	O
supporters	O
and	O
alleged	O
white	O
supremacists	O
from	O
their	O
platforms	O
in	O
the	O
wake	O
of	O
the	O
2021	O
United	O
States	O
Capitol	O
attack	O
earlier	O
that	O
month	O
,	O
Minds	O
was	O
among	O
the	O
alternative	O
apps	O
those	O
users	O
adopted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Minds	O
is	O
a	O
website	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
desktop	B-Application
and	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
platform	O
awards	O
Ethereum	B-Application
ERC20	O
cryptocurrency	O
tokens	O
to	O
its	O
users	O
based	O
on	O
their	O
engagement	O
with	O
the	O
site	O
,	O
and	O
users	O
spend	O
tokens	O
to	O
promote	O
their	O
content	O
or	O
to	O
crowdfund	O
other	O
users	O
through	O
monthly	O
subscriptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Minds	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
an	O
alt-tech	O
platform	O
,	O
alongside	O
other	O
services	O
including	O
Parler	B-Application
,	O
Gab	O
,	O
BitChute	O
,	O
and	O
MeWe	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Minds	O
is	O
also	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
,	O
so	O
its	O
codebase	O
can	O
be	O
freely	O
audited	O
for	O
vulnerabilities	O
or	O
other	O
privacy	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
an	O
application	O
security	O
consultant	O
posted	O
to	O
the	O
Full	B-General_Concept
Disclosure	I-General_Concept
mailing	O
list	O
to	O
say	O
that	O
the	O
Minds	O
client	O
was	O
accepting	O
encryption	O
keys	O
without	O
any	O
identity	O
verification	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Minds	O
was	O
using	O
its	O
own	O
weak	O
cryptography	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
the	O
same	O
week	O
,	O
a	O
security	O
company	O
had	O
released	O
a	O
full	B-General_Concept
disclosure	I-General_Concept
report	O
claiming	O
they	O
had	O
found	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
possible	O
for	O
them	O
to	O
delete	O
any	O
message	O
,	O
edit	O
any	O
user	O
's	O
profile	O
,	O
and	O
upload	O
arbitrary	O
files	O
to	O
Minds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bill	B-Protocol
Ottman	I-Protocol
,	O
Minds	O
 '	O
CEO	O
,	O
acknowledged	O
the	O
issues	O
reported	O
in	O
the	O
security	O
company	O
's	O
full	B-General_Concept
disclosure	I-General_Concept
and	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
addressed	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2018	O
interview	O
with	O
TechCrunch	O
,	O
founder	O
and	O
CEO	O
Bill	B-Protocol
Ottman	I-Protocol
said	O
that	O
Mind	O
's	O
mission	O
was	O
"	O
Internet	O
freedom	O
with	O
privacy	O
,	O
transparency	O
,	O
free	O
speech	O
within	O
the	O
law	O
and	O
user	O
control	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Minds	O
 '	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
disallows	O
doxing	B-Application
,	O
inciting	O
violence	O
,	O
posting	O
terroristic	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
harassing	O
other	O
users	O
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
2018	O
,	O
a	O
writer	O
for	O
Engadget	B-Application
wrote	O
about	O
his	O
concerns	O
with	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
commitment	O
to	O
protecting	O
free	O
speech	O
:	O
"	O
It	O
's	O
not	O
until	O
you	O
survey	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
channels	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
that	O
you	O
start	O
wondering	O
what	O
sort	O
of	O
free	O
speech	O
and	O
debate	O
Minds	O
is	O
interested	O
in	O
protecting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Minds	O
had	O
a	O
small	O
team	O
that	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
policing	O
content	O
on	O
the	O
site	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
not	O
using	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
to	O
try	O
to	O
detect	O
content	O
that	O
violated	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ottman	O
has	O
said	O
that	O
he	O
opposes	O
removing	O
hate	O
speech	O
and	O
other	O
objectionable	O
content	O
from	O
Minds	O
because	O
he	O
believes	O
it	O
can	O
draw	O
more	O
attention	O
to	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
he	O
opposes	O
deplatforming	B-Application
extremists	O
because	O
he	O
believes	O
it	O
only	O
serves	O
to	O
push	O
people	O
towards	O
more	O
"	O
other	O
darker	O
corners	O
of	O
the	O
internet	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
reported	O
that	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
removed	O
tens	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
Trump	O
supporters	O
and	O
white	O
supremacists	O
from	O
their	O
platforms	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Minds	O
was	O
among	O
the	O
alternative	O
apps	O
those	O
users	O
adopted	O
.	O
</s>
