Narrative Provenance
Defined in The Three Pillars of Digital Sovereignty (Chapter 4), Declaration is the foundational act of digital existence. Without it, a user is merely a tenant; their identity exists only as long as the platform permits.
"If you do not own your name, you do not exist; you only hover."
Field Notes
The Litmus Test: Can your identity be revoked by a third party's Terms of Service change? If yes, you lack Declaration.
Historical Context: The loss of Declaration occurred when the web shifted from personal homepages (1990s) to social media profiles (2000s), where "real name" policies often erased pseudonymous identities.
Praxis
Achieving Declaration typically involves:
- Owning a domain name (the digital equivalent of a deed).
- Using email addresses tied to that domain (not Gmail).
- Participating in federated systems where identity is portable.