Web3.0: Will it make a difference on privacy?

Customer data has never been so widely available and in such large volumes and the topic of privacy has never been more important. How to harness data ethically while protecting privacy will be a major theme – and challenge – for brand owners and marketers in 2022, according to Steve Griffiths, chief digital officer at ad agency DDB EMEA.

Around the world, efforts to upgrade rules on digital services, privacy, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are stepping up. But at the same time the internet is evolving to a decentralised model, known as Web3.0.

Why it matters

Web3.0, the third incarnation of the internet, is widely envisaged as an improvement over the current Web2.0 by taking the web back to its intended roots.

Key points

• Web3.0 is expected to be a more decentralised version of the internet, with internet applications and services powered and controlled by distributed ledger technology – the most common being blockchains and where people have control over their data. It is hoped it will be more open, more accessible and more transparent. 

• As such, it is hoped Web3.0 will re-balance the relationship between media owners/platforms and other stakeholders – perhaps, even, shift the balance of power in favour of the individual user.

• While Web3.0 will allay some privacy concerns, new regulatory privacy frameworks will be needed for a world where personal data becomes a well-understood, valued commodity that also takes into account developments in Machine Learning and AI.

[Image: Matthew Henry from Unsplash]