Balaji Srinivasan's Network School rebrands Farcaster as Network State Protocol amid user bans

Balaji Srinivasan's Network School acquired Farcaster from Neynar and rebranded it as the Network State Protocol. On the same day, several users reported their Farcaster accounts were restricted to "read-only" due to past posts violating new rules. Srinivasan stated these bans are part of his vision to turn the platform into the "Singapore of social media," a positive-sum community operating under a shared code of conduct, which includes instituting "law and order." The platform, which had 250,000 monthly active users in December 2025, will use a "social smart contract" where users opt-in to the rules, which classify violations as digital felonies, misdemeanors, or infractions, with penalties applied to past and new posts. Both humans and an open-weight AI model will review millions of posts to determine bans, with an appeals process available, and the system also promises rewards for "pro-social behavior."