BitTorrent, the company behind the BitTorrent protocol and the uTorrent client is working on a decentralized browser based on BitTorrent. The company announced the so-called Maelstrom browser on their blog stating the browser should ensure an open internet.
Much is still unclear about the browser but users can already register to become alpha-tester. "Please join us in this project, become a fractional owner of this new Internet and help us shape the future of our network", BitTorrent CEO Eric Klinker writes on the company's blog.
While it's clear the browser will be built on the BitTorrent protocol, it's unclear whether the browser can also be used to visit regular websites. It's also possible that websites require a specific configuration in order to become reachable for the browser. It's also possible that the developers of the browser opt to offer both options.
When they choose the latter, the Maelstrom browser works similar to the Tor browser which works with both specially configured Tor sites and "regular" websites. The entire browser has similarities with Tor, a network of servers that can be used to visit websites anonymously. One big difference is that the focus of Maelstrom isn't on security while for Tor that's important feature.
According to a team member of the Maelstrom team the browser uses a version of the BitTorrent protocol that is optimized for web content. It's unclear on which platforms Maelstrom will become available, but it's clear the browser will initially not become available for Linux. A Linux version of the browser will become available later, promises a team member in the comments on the blogpost.
BitTorrent hopes the browser helps in ensuring the internet remains an open platform. When the browser is widely used providers can no longer block access to websites or slow down specific internet traffic. Obviously providers could block all BitTorrent traffic on their network which would render the browser useless. But in many countries it's not allowed to block specific protocols.
It's unknown whether BitTorrent plans to open source the browser. Given the promises of Klinker about an open internet it's possible but the source code of other BitTorrent software like BitTorrent Sync and the chatclient Bleep has never been released.
