As Google celebrates its 25th anniversary, the tech giant finds itself facing one of the most significant antitrust trials in U.S. history over its search engine dominance, a global push to curb the market dominance of big tech companies through regulatory and legal actions focus of efforts. This trial marks a critical moment in recognizing that not everyone is reaping the rewards of the digital age, and it prompts us to ask: “What could we do differently?”
To answer this question, we must first understand the evolution of the Internet, which has gone through several different eras—often referred to as Web1, Web2, and now Web3. Every era brings new possibilities and challenges. Web1 was the early web, where information was presented on static websites. Web2 introduced interactive elements, collaborative applications, social media, and saw the rise of tech giants like Google and Facebook.
However, Web2 is a double-edged sword. While it has brought huge economic gains, global connectivity and empowered marginalized voices, it has also faced significant setbacks. Its reliance on advertising revenue has led to the exploitation of user data and a shift toward engagement-driven platforms at the expense of open ecosystems. Recommendation engines, while valuable for personalizing content, can inadvertently lead users into echo chambers that amplify extremism and misinformation. In addition, giants such as Apple and Google charge exorbitant fees to developers and seize control of app stores, creating a bottleneck for innovation.
Now we stand on the edge of Web3, often referred to as the “read-write-yourself” web. This new era, powered by blockchain technology, restores individual control and ownership of data, content, and creative works.
Web3 introduces four core principles that promise to reshape the digital landscape: ownership, commerce, identity, and governance. These principles promise to address many of Web2’s shortcomings and deliver a fairer, user-centered, and open Internet.
1. Ownership: Redefining digital property rights
In the age of Web1 and Web2, most of us are simply tenants of the digital world. We use platforms and services, but we don’t really own our digital presence. Web3 flips the script by introducing digital assets called “tokens,” which can be thought of as containers of value, just as websites are containers of information. Just as there are nearly countless different configurations for websites, there are nearly countless different ways for tokens to represent ownership, from money to stocks, art to collectibles, data, natural assets, and more. Additionally, tokens enable two or more individuals to conduct digital and peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries.
2. Business: Changing business models
Web3 is powered by a variety of technologies including blockchain, a digital medium of value. Just as the first era of the web changed the way we move and store information, blockchain promises to transform business models across industries by changing the way we move and store value. In financial services, DeFi is reshaping lending, trading, and financing. Stablecoins—digital assets backed by fiat currencies—process trillions of dollars in transactions on blockchains like Ethereum.
It’s not just about money and markets. Culture demands new business models, and Web3 can help us get there. Web3 simplifies how we fund creative businesses. It removes industry gatekeepers and amplifies underrepresented voices. It has created new ways for creators around the world to make a living.In just a few years, there have been more than three hundred different NFT projects Generate at least $1 million Royalties for creators so they can continue to make money immediately and frictionlessly when their work is resold.Thailand has More NFT holders More than the United States, Canada and Germany combined.On Ethereum, the largest network in Web3, creators get Over $1.8 billion in royalties.
3. Identity: Empowering users
In Web2, user data becomes a valuable commodity, but individuals have little control or ownership over it. Data aggregators monetize user information, raising concerns about privacy and user exploitation. Web3 solves this problem by giving individuals control over their own data. Just like traditional wallets contain useful information and valuable assets, digital wallets contain not only money and other digital goods, but also a person’s unique identifier.
So with Web3, you own your data and can use it as a way to unlock services and other benefits. For example, Spectral Finance is helping users navigate digital credit scores to unlock financial services. This shift empowers users to protect their data, ensuring that they, rather than the company, benefit from it. This is a step towards a more user-centric internet that respects privacy and user rights.
4. Governance: Stake in the system
Web3 turns internet users into internet owners – who can gain ownership stakes in products and services by holding tokens. This aligns their interests with the platforms they rely on and gives them a say in governance decisions.
For example, in DeFi, early users of applications such as Compound and Uniswap receive tokens as rewards for contributing to the ecosystem. Web3 extends the Silicon Valley motto that to attract the best talent, you need to share your strengths and apply them to anyone using Web3 applications worldwide.
As governments and regulators grapple with the dominance of Big Tech, Web3 is emerging as a compelling alternative. This isn’t just a technological shift; it’s a philosophy – a call to action that resonates across the digital landscape, inviting people to question the status quo and envision a future where the internet truly belongs to everyone.
Alex Tapscott is the author of the upcoming book Web3: Mapping the Internet’s next economic and cultural frontier. The views expressed in Fortune opinion pieces are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of: wealth.
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