The internet began as a network of and for people. Today, a large part of it is controlled by a handful of companies. That did not happen out of bad intent, but it does bring problems: for your privacy, for the reliability of the network and even for energy use. In this article we calmly explain how this came about, which problems it creates and why, for a number of years now, a different internet has been under construction, the decentralized internet.
The promise the internet started with
When the internet came into being, the idea was simple and powerful: computers all over the world that could talk to each other directly, without the need for a central boss. Anyone could join, share information and set something up themselves. It was a network that belonged to no one in particular and, precisely because of that, to everyone.
That openness has brought a great deal of good. But in the decades that followed, something changed that most people never consciously chose.
How the internet slowly centralized
Convenience won out over openness. It became easier and easier to place your email, your photos, your documents and your conversations with a few large services that arranged everything for you. That is understandable, because it worked well and took little effort.
The only consequence is that almost everything we do online now runs through a small number of companies. Your files sit on their servers. Your messages travel through their systems. Your searches, your location and your behaviour are stored on their computers. The network that once belonged to everyone has, in practice, largely ended up in the hands of a few parties.
The problems this brings
That centralization is not without consequences. There are three problems you notice yourself, whether you are technical or not.
You have little grip on your own data
The moment your data sits on someone else’s computer, you no longer decide what happens to it. Your data is linked, analyzed and used to build a profile of you. Often this happens in the background, without you noticing. You have hardly any view of it and certainly no control over it.
The network is fragile
When a great many services depend on the same few providers, an outage at one of those providers immediately has major consequences. Websites, apps and systems that seem unrelated then fail all at once. Your access to your own account or files can also be blocked without warning, and then you are locked out of an environment you thought was yours.
It is inefficient
There is also a practical drawback that few people know about. When two people in the same town have a video call, that signal often travels first to a large data centre far away and then all the way back again. That costs unnecessary time and energy. And all those enormous data centres together consume a considerable share of the world’s electricity.
Why a handful of companies has so much influence
The heart of the problem is actually simple: your data has to sit somewhere. Every photo, every message and every document is ultimately stored on a physical device, a server, that stands somewhere in a building. And such a server is, at its core, simply someone else’s computer.
Right now, the vast majority of those computers sit with a small number of large companies. As a result, almost everything we do online runs through them. Not because it was meant that way, but because that is how it grew.
An alternative is already being built
The good news is that something is being done about this, and it is being done by people who know the internet well. More than ten years ago they reached an uncomfortable conclusion: the internet has not become what the promise was. That is why, since around 2016, something new has been under construction, under the name ThreeFold.
The idea is to bring back the original setup. Instead of a few enormous data centres, the decentralized internet consists of a network of many small nodes. A node is a small box, comparable to the router you already have in your meter cupboard. Those nodes are spread out and owned by ordinary people. No one owns the whole. Together they form the infrastructure.
Such a setup solves exactly the problems described above. Your data no longer has to sit with one party. The network is no longer dependent on a few providers. And because traffic can take a shorter route and the small nodes are energy-efficient, it is also more economical.
What this means for you
You do not have to be a techie and you do not have to change everything at once. Digital independence works best as a series of small steps, from a few settings on your phone to, eventually, your own place on that decentralized network. Every step you take is worth something in itself.
At YourData Network we make that technology accessible and usable. We use everything we recommend ourselves, every day. Our starting point is simple: give the internet back to its users.
Want to know how to take the first step yourself? Download our free guide “Your roadmap to digital independence”. In it we show, step by step, how to gain more grip on your digital life, at your own pace and with control always in your own hands.