Web3’s responsibility is to advance data privacy

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In the United States, 92 percent of individuals report concerns about their privacy when using the Internet; This underscores how recent major data breaches and narratives about Big Tech data monetization are eroding the trust of internet users. This situation has increased especially with the rise of opaque artificial intelligence systems and evolving sociopolitical environments.

Gaps in regulation

Although the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation in 2018 constitutes a reference point as the first comprehensive legal regulation aimed at improving the privacy rights of internet users, it is not without its shortcomings.

GDPR and subsequent regulatory frameworks have been largely ineffective at enforcing and holding Big Tech companies, particularly Google and Meta, accountable for the collection and sale of user data. Claims of potential GDPR violations reportedly take years, sometimes even more than four, to be addressed. The delays are due to complex procedures that involve multiple agencies and countries handling complaints against specific companies; these procedures create significant backlogs and undermine the law’s ability to enforce and maintain its authority.

The lack of federal legislation regarding data protection in the United States has led many states to take matters into their own hands. The US’s patchwork regulatory reality can create more harm than good, as changes to certain issues create endless compliance complexities for businesses operating in multiple states.

Users then receive varying degrees of data protection depending on their location at any given time. Additionally, for small and medium-sized businesses, the development of individual compliance programs with individual state regulators increases costs, limiting their ability to compete with Big Tech and other large companies.

Meanwhile, Big Tech is weighing in with intense lobbying and claims that any legislation with real teeth will undermine innovation. While this is an issue worth discussing, companies whose business model is highly dependent on data-driven advertising revenue do not want increased protection of consumer data.

Despite growing awareness of the value and vulnerability of personal data privacy, centralized organizations in the form of Big Tech conglomerates and governments maintain a powerful influence over our user data. Regulatory protections are generally welcome, but the lack of transparency between Big Tech and governments’ intentions will not repair the distrust many have in both.

The growing role of Web3

This is exactly where web3’s decentralized infrastructure can bypass centralized entities whose interests do not align with most users to ensure a higher standard of data protection.

Blockchain, and web3 more broadly, has countless iterations and use cases of its technology designed to attempt to generate wealth through games, crypto schemes, or other means. However, many projects and developers either miss or choose to ignore the potential they have in protecting user data.

Thanks to blockchain’s inherent encryption technology and immutable ledger, some web3-based privacy projects are staking their claim as an alternative to the current web2 system that dominates online interactions in order to profit from advertising revenue. One example of this is tomi, a DAO-led project that leverages the data protection power of web3 to create a decentralized, privacy-focused “alternative internet.”

tomi’s modus operandi is to promote security, data privacy and freedom of expression throughout its operations and products offering. This includes leveraging web3’s data privacy capabilities to provide services that further its mission in material ways, including a VPN, storage, and private messaging service for its users to protect their browsing and communications. Tomi’s focus is on making decentralized technology as intuitive and accessible as possible, as the project is community-led and works on a unified model to maintain the familiarity and user experience of web2.

The truth is that although regular users may want to take further steps to protect their data privacy, they are unlikely to take these measures in case of any inconvenience. This simple fact creates a hurdle that many web3 infrastructure projects do not feel comfortable trying to overcome.

So what’s the takeaway here? First, web3 projects must take themselves more seriously as advocates for data privacy and protection in the complex regulatory environment around the world. By providing alternatives for both Big Tech and those concerned about regulatory overreach, developers have a strong and compelling use case that will not fizzle out during a market downturn. However, protecting privacy cannot come at the expense of UX, and this must remain at the forefront if projects want a significant user base to migrate to web3.