Farcaster Rebrands as Network State Protocol Following Acquisition by Network School
Network School has acquired the decentralized social platform Farcaster from Neynar and rebranded the main application as the Network State Protocol. Immediately following the transition, the platform implemented strict moderation measures that restricted several user accounts to read-only status based on past posts, prompting criticism from existing network participants.
The ownership change marks a significant shift for Farcaster, which had reached 250,000 monthly active users in late 2025. Under the new governance structure, participants agree to a shared social contract featuring rules enforced by human moderators and artificial intelligence tools. Although account restrictions have raised concerns about network decentralization, the underlying protocol remains open, enabling affected users to move their account keys, funds, followers, and post history to alternative client applications.
Looking ahead, Network School plans to deploy AI systems that alert users to potential rule violations before publishing, while offering rewards for constructive network contributions. The organization also intends to extend its digital community into physical pop-up events and startup cities, progressing with plans to establish a campus in Kazakhstan after previous regulatory issues halted its operations in Malaysia.
Key points
- Network School acquired Farcaster from Neynar and rebranded the main client as Network State Protocol.
- New moderation rules triggered account restrictions for past posts, leading to user backlash.
- Policy enforcement relies on human moderators and open-weight artificial intelligence models.
- The underlying protocol remains open, allowing restricted users to migrate their data to other clients.
- Network School aims to build physical startup cities, starting with a new campus in Kazakhstan.
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How we writeDisclaimerQuestions and answers
What is the Network State Protocol?
Network State Protocol is the rebranded name of the Farcaster reference application following its acquisition by Network School.
Why were Farcaster users restricted?
Accounts were restricted to read-only status for historical posts that violated a newly introduced code of conduct enforced by AI and human reviewers.
Can restricted Farcaster users switch to another client?
Yes, because the core protocol is open, users retain their cryptographic keys, funds, followers, and content history to transition to competing applications.