Web3 – Taxation without Representation – Irish Tech News – Irish Tech News
Guest post by Samson Williams
For a moment let’s imagine “Web3”, whatever you think it is, actually exists. I don’t think it exists. Web3 is analogous to a “smart contract”. It is a really cute marketing term most often employed to confuse people and decentralise them from their hard-earned money. But for the purpose of this article, we’ll pretend that Web3 (or 5 depending on who is counting) even exists.
Now that that is out of the way, here’s the real shocker for you.
What that means is that users of Web3 still don’t own anything. Users of Web3 don’t own anything for the same reason that users of Web2 and Web1 don’t own anything. In both, users don’t own the infrastructure. The internet is actually a vast collection of millions of miles of fibre optic cables that were built, connected and have been maintained by various companies for the last three decades.
Roughly 94% of all internet traffic goes through land-based lines, the rest goes through satellites as part of The Space Economy. Meanwhile, the companies that own the plumbing of the internet, guess how they make money? These companies make money very similar to how Simon Property Group makes money. For those of you who don’t know, Simon Property Group is the largest owner of Malls in America.
Simon makes money by charging stores rent to be in their Malls. So too with Web1. The companies who own the physical infrastructure of the internet (routers, cables, data centres, satellites, etc…) charge businesses to access and use the internet. Turns out that even in cyberspace there are landlords (Google, Amazon, Comcast, etc…) and tenants.
What does this mean for users of the “Web3”? It means that users pay to access the Metaverse and Web3 through Web5+ with their data. Data after all is the native currency of the world wide web. Much like going to the Mall is free (minus the gas), so too is going to the Metaverse or Web3. The trick is, to convince users that things are “free” because users have never been entitled to owning their data. Web3 and the “Metaverse” are free because you are the product. But you already knew that.
Samson Williams said:
When you integrate Web3 into Web2, you get the same cables that run Web1. Which means you all pay rent to the cable and satellite owners, who own the infrastructure of the web. Hence why you cannot have a “decentralised” web because someone has to pay for the infrastructure. And to maintain it.
Dan Jones replied:
Very insightful comment Samson, and had me thinking. I suppose the definition of web3 is more about the decentralisation of where and how data is stored than the physical infrastructure that connects it together. But as a concept, it’s seemingly just as pertinent!
Samson Williams replied:
Dan Jones in Web3 you still don’t own your data. Because the folks who own the infrastructure make it “free” by charging you for “your” data. So…yeah. Web3! It’s Upton Sinclaire’s The Jungle, just in a digital setting.
Dan Jones replied:
Samson Williams to a certain extent, but the question around ownership is different to infrastructure. You can still have ownership of something but it runs on some kind of infrastructure? I own a car but that doesn’t mean I own the road, or that I am even at the mercy of the government…depends on how neo-liberal you’d want to go
Samson Williams replied:
Dan Jones, it does though mean you’re taxed for the road. See, whoever owns the infrastructure collects the taxes. Hence why all the VCs are in a rush to decentralise you from your cash. Talk about taxation without representation.
Web3 and the Metaverse are just the latest real estate land grab by VCs aimed to set up the online versions of Malls, where humans go to hang out. While they’ll tell you that it is free, it is only free because the landlords of the online Malls fundamentally don’t believe you have the right to own the data you generate. Your new digital lords provide you “free” access because they harvest, collect and monetize your data. So, what does this all mean? It means when you hear someone saying how Web3 is the future. Congrats! It is 1993 and we’re all headed to Towers Records to hang out.
Samson is a classically trained anthropologist, alternative finance and crisis management expert who focuses on helping firms understand the latest human trends in fintech, digital transformation, the Space Economy and Low Earth Orbit entrepreneurship so that they can make profitable decisions for their bottom lines. When not making the Space Economy more accessible for all, Samson is an adjunct professor at the University of New Hampshire School of Law and Instructor at Columbia University in NYC. For more information or to book Samson to present at your event visit www.SamsonWilliams.com.
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