This is a fundamental component to Web 3.0.
Account ownership is part of the path towards censorship resistance. At present, with Web 2.0, accounts are fully under the control of the application. This is evident in the social media realm when we see platforms such as YouTube and Twitter banning people. When this happens, their account is closed down.
This is what happens when all data is resident on their servers. It puts them fully in control.
Social media is not the only area where this is the case. It is also prevalent within the financial world. Any financial institution also has the ability to close an account. Because it is dealing with money, there are regulations they have to adhere to. Nevertheless, the control of the account, hence whatever balance is there, is under their domain.
Web 3.0 alters this by utilizing blockchain and private keys to provide true account ownership. Since nobody entity is in control, individuals have access to their information and money. The sole requirement is they maintain the security of their keys.
Another aspect to this is the fact the base layer has to be decentralized. Here is where Bitcoin excelled by having thousands of miners located all over the world. This is truly outside the control of the central banks or governments. Any wallet is accessible and can push through transactions due to the permissionless nature.
Banks along with other financial institutions run permissioned networks. So do social media companies. Here we see how Web 3.0 is also about the merging of finance and social media.
Unlike Bitcoin which is only financial transactions, Hive is a decentralized database that allows for the development of social media applications. This is something that appears to be accelerating. Since people own their accounts, whatever is posted on-chain is censorship resistant. Nobody can take it down.
Blockchain got a lot of attention due to cryptocurrency, something that will have a tremendous impact in the future. However, at the core of this is the ability to maintain our sovereignty. This starts with money but is extending to many other areas as the use cases for blockchain expand. Social media is the second major application for blockchain.
The next evolution of the Internet is Web 3.0. This is going to ensure that account ownership is a crucial component. People might not be too worried about it at this point. However, when digital assets such as non-fungible tokens are involved, people will be concerned.
Many feel that since digital technology is not slowing down, this is a crucial component to democracy.