Towards Re-Decentralized Future of the Web: Privacy, Security and Technology Development

Abstract

The World Wide Web (the Web) has become part of people’s daily lives. Although the Web, like the Internet itself, was designed as a decentralized network, hand in hand with the increase in its interactivity Web users gradually concentrated on a limited number of platforms. As a result, providers of these large international platforms have become centres of power that can easily influence users’ behaviour and what information they can access. This paper is based on an integrative literature review and its aim is to describe the development of the Web from its beginnings to the present. This development is viewed from the perspective of centralization of the Web and the reactions that this centralization has provoked, especially the current trends towards the so-called re-decentralized Web. More specifically, the paper focuses on the privacy imperative that might act as a driving force for the re-decentralized Web, and on the technological innovations enabling development of truly decentralized platforms and applications. This paper contributes to the discussion of implications that a wider adoption of the re-decentralized Web could bring in the near future.