What it Means to Decentralize the Web - A Study of the Implications and Feasibility of a Decentralized Web

Abstract: Although based on decentralized principles, the World Wide Web has become highly centralized with a few multinational tech corporations hosting and providing all of the services most people use the internet for. This has led to the unproportionate power some companies hold over the world’s people and has wide consequences, not least is reduced integrity. As a response to this development, decentralized alternatives to these services are being developed and used, as well as a vision for an entirely new web (Web3). Federated social networks, blockchain technologies, dApps, and more are all components of a new decentralized web. However, these initiatives face threatening challenges - both technological and social ones. While these alternative solutions are a viable solution for some, none of them are in a stage where they can compete with the centralized architecture. Due to substandard UX design, poor performance, network effects, inherently reduced functionality and a tainted reputation, the decentralized web is far from as functional as the traditional web.