Humans have always had the desire to be free and control their fate. This drive for autonomy— to be seen, heard, and included in decision-making—has fueled democracy, taking it from a mere idea in ancient Greece into the most practiced form of government today. And when the internet was invented, everyone thought it would be a tool for freedom and connection. Instead, it's been hijacked. Today, only a measly 17% of Internet users worldwide enjoy total freedom (Statista, 2024). Tech giants silence voices they don’t like. Governments cut off access when it suits them. This is nothing like the freedom the internet was supposed to give. Statista, But a shift is coming. The Decentralized Internet is about to break that monopoly, handing power back to users. This article looks at how a decentralized internet will level the playing field and what its future holds. What Is Decentralized Internet? The decentralized internet is an internet infrastructure that operates on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks rather than centralized servers. peer-to-peer (P2P) networks Let’s break things down. For instance, under the traditional structure, internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast allow you to access the internet. Companies like Google and Amazon operate data centers that store and process your data. And of course, government agencies and social media giants enforce regulations and control content algorithms. In contrast, with a decentralized internet, it's not just companies providing the services—everyone is involved in the process. For example, instead of depending on centralized providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud, individual users or small groups could run independent data centers or participate in a distributed network. Simon St. Laurent (Content Manager at LinkedIn Learning) puts it this way: Simon St. Laurent A Decentralized Web is a network of resources in which no one player can control the conversation or spin it to [his or her] exclusive advantage. A Decentralized Web is a network of resources in which no one player can control the conversation or spin it to [his or her] exclusive advantage. A Decentralized Web is a network of resources in which no one player can control the conversation or spin it to [his or her] exclusive advantage. In a decentralized internet, independent computers and privately owned networks work together to provide internet services, without relying on corporate-controlled infrastructure. However, beyond this shift from corporate-controlled networks to a decentralized model, the big question is: Does it really matter much if the Internet is centralized or decentralized? Are there any real-world benefits for the average Joey if the internet is decentralized? Let’s break down the key advantages of a decentralized Internet. really Beyond Big Tech: 5 Real Benefits of a Decentralized Internet Beyond Big Tech: 5 Real Benefits of a Decentralized Internet ‘ 1. Data Privacy 1. Data Privacy If there is one thing that has been misused so much under a centralized internet system, it is users' data. For instance, Google’s location tracking scandal revealed that Google still tracks users' location even when they turn off their "location tracking feature" on their mobile devices. Imagine someone spying on you everywhere you go, every minute. Google’s location tracking scandal With a decentralized internet, this is less likely to happen because users are in complete control of their data. The rules and permissions are handled via transparent smart contracts on the Blockchain. This means no one can redefine privacy settings behind the scenes. smart contracts on the Blockchain 2. Resistance to Censorship In 1996, the Chinese government created the Great Firewall, an internet censorship system that allows citizens to access only a heavily filtered version of the internet. This means that people in China cannot access global websites like Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and even certain news outlets like BBC and The New York Times. Great Firewall And in 2025, that initiative is still in place. That’s nearly three decades of being shut off from the rest of the world. However, the Chinese government is not the only one that tampers with its citizens’ digital freedom. There have also been several countries that shut down the internet completely on several occasions. countries that shut down the internet With a decentralized internet, it becomes hard for censorship to happen since the infrastructure is now owned and controlled by different people in different places. For instance, one of the methods the Chinese government uses for the firewall program is controlling Internet service providers. And that was easy to do because only a few corporations were involved. If it were under a decentralized structure, getting everyone involved to agree would be difficult. 3. No Single Point of Failure Under a centralized internet, if you have a situation where there is a failure of a single component it can cause the entire system to stop working. A good example of this is the Rogers Telecom Outage. Rogers Telecom Outage. On July 8, 2022, Rogers Communications, one of Canada's largest telecom providers, suffered a massive nationwide outage that left 12 million Canadians stranded. People couldn't call 911, pay for goods, or access online banking. And what was the cause? Well, Rogers runs a centralized infrastructure and was trying to do some upgrades. That was it. Just one error leading to total blackout. That’s one of the many dangers of centralization. In a decentralized network, data is routed through many independent nodes, not one giant backbone. So, if one provider or server fails, others take over automatically. 4. More Efficient Content Delivery In a centralized internet, most websites and services rely on central servers or cloud data centers to store and deliver content. This means all users must connect to the same few locations to access a site or stream media. But what happens when those servers are overloaded or far from the user? The users will experience slow loading times, and sometimes it leads to a complete outage. loading times In a decentralized internet, the content is stored across many distributed nodes and delivered from the closest or fastest available source, rather than a single fixed server. This means the user will enjoy a great experience even when there is high traffic. 5. Open and Transparent Governance Presently, the average user has no say in what happens on the internet. Tech giants just decide at will to make changes without even considering the impact it may have on users. For example, Facebook’s algorithm changes have destroyed entire businesses overnight, with no warning and no recourse. In contrast, Decentralized networks are often governed through community-driven protocols and on-chain governance, where users vote on key changes. Decisions are made by stakeholders and not just CEOs. And this is not just some big idea. Projects like Ethereum, ENS (Ethereum Name Service), and Mastodon are already showing that decentralized communities can run complex systems fairly and openly. What Does the Future Hold? What Does the Future Hold? While the decentralized internet is still in the developmental stage, one thing is clear: it is a shift that will forever change our lives. Oke Umurhohwo (Head of Global Marketing, Zap Africa) says: Oke Umurhohwo The decentralized internet represents a seismic shift in the way we think about online interactions, one that prioritizes community, security, and transparency over centralized control. The decentralized internet represents a seismic shift in the way we think about online interactions, one that prioritizes community, security, and transparency over centralized control. Already, we have started seeing promising implementations of the decentralized internet. Projects like Filecoin are creating decentralized storage networks. Brave Browser is redefining how we interact with content online. And initiatives like Spacecoin are taking decentralization beyond Earth's surface with satellite-based internet nodes. With the Spacecoin project, internet accessibility will greatly improve even in remote areas where traditional internet infrastructure is lacking. However, despite this progress, there are still some challenges plaguing the decentralized internet, with user adoption being one of the major problems. To many people, the idea of a decentralized internet still sounds abstract. But it is only a matter of time before the gospel of a decentralized internet becomes mainstream. The benefits are just too much to be ignored. Decentralization is our only chance of restoring the internet to what it should be: a tool of freedom. And we all should start embracing it, not tomorrow but today!

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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