Social And Technical Aspects Of Re-Decentralized Web

Although the World Wide Web (or web) is a decentralized network of interconnected documents, highly centralized ecosystem dominated by a few supranational companies has developed on top of these foundations. These companies create their own platforms and offer web-powered services that are used by people and organizations around the world. Many of these platforms or services are free of charge, but the providers often process personal and other users' data not just to improve their services but also for other commercial purposes. The users' data also represent a significant barrier to entry of new companies to the market, because collecting the users' data would require significant investments from the new entrants. At the same time, users often face difficulties when switching service providers because their data are in many cases not easily transferable between services. As a result, these supranational companies have become centers of significant power and influence. This article presents the so-called re-decentralization of the web as a complementary alternative to this present state. The goal of the re-decentralized web is to return to the original ideas of the web as an open space, where everyone can freely publish their content and decide on the use of their data. This paper offers a probe into this issue from a social and technical point of view based on an integrative literature review. In this context, some relevant phenomena such as cloud feudalism, platform capitalism or dictatorship of algorithms were highlighted and referred to. In conclusion, the paper summarizes the current situation,presents challenges for further research, and discusses the possible implications of wider adoption of the technologies based on the idea of a re-decentralized web in the near future.