Re-decentralizing the Web, For Good This Time

Abstract

Originally designed as a decentralized ecosystem, the Web has undergone a significant centralization in recent years. In order to regain control over our digital self, we need to understand how we arrived at this point and how we can get back on track. This chapter explains the history of decentralization in a Web context and details Tim Berners-Lee’s role in the continued battle for a free and open Web. The challenges and solutions are not purely technical in nature but rather fit into a larger socio-economic puzzle, to which all of us are invited to contribute. Let us take back the Web for good and leverage its full potential as envisioned by its creator.