The European Union's Web4 Strategy: Beyond Decentralization

While the tech world debates the future of the Internet, the European Union has taken a decisive step by proposing an alternative vision to Web3. Far from limiting itself to blockchain technology and decentralization, the European proposal for Web4 aims to balance innovation with user protection and corporate responsibility. This approach represents a paradigm shift in how European regulators view the continent’s digital evolution.

Why does the EU propose Web4 instead of Web3?

The European Commission has noted that, although Web3 offers interesting solutions, it lacks a comprehensive perspective. While Web3 focuses almost exclusively on blockchain technology and decentralization mechanisms, Web4 adopts a broader approach that incorporates artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual worlds, and extended reality capabilities.

Europe’s rejection of Web3 is not ideological but pragmatic. A study conducted by YouGov and Consensys revealed that only 8% of European citizens feel familiar with the concept of Web3. This disconnect between technology and the average user suggests that Web3 has failed in its value proposition for ordinary people. The European Commission recognizes that a future Internet must be accessible and beneficial for everyone, not just technical experts and investors.

The Web4 strategy leverages the potential of Web3—particularly decentralization and data control—but integrates it within a more flexible framework that allows regulatory adjustments when necessary. This reflects European regulatory philosophy: responsible innovation, not total restriction.

Technical features of Web4 compared to previous generations

To understand Web4, it’s necessary to briefly review how each Internet generation has evolved:

Web 1.0 was the era of independent creators, where anyone could produce content that others consumed. The structure was decentralized by default but also chaotic and inefficient.

Web 2.0 introduced corporate platforms that centralized content and connected millions of users. While this improved user experience, it concentrated extraordinary power in the hands of big tech companies.

Web 3.0 emerged as a response, promoting blockchain and cryptocurrencies as tools to return control to users. However, its technical complexity, economic volatility, and lack of regulatory clarity limited its widespread adoption.

Web 4.0 seeks to synthesize the best of each era. It maintains Web1’s decentralized philosophy, incorporates Web2’s improved user experience, and builds on Web3 technologies, adding layers of artificial intelligence to make the system more intuitive, secure, and responsible.

Key features of Web4 include:

• User data sovereignty without sacrificing usability
• Enhanced decentralized platforms with semantic technology and AI
• Economic incentive systems based on tokenomics, integrated with traditional business models
• Strengthened protection of authors’ and content creators’ rights
• Network security with more sophisticated anti-fraud mechanisms
• Participatory governance where communities contribute to infrastructural decisions
• Corporate responsibility of platforms over user-generated content

The ten pillars of Europe’s Web4 strategy

The European Commission has structured its Web4 vision around ten fundamental principles:

1. Active risk monitoring: Maintain control over potential security and privacy dangers inherited from Web3, without being completely passive to innovation.

2. Smart regulation: Implement selective oversight rather than allowing total free rein, learning from Web2’s mistakes where platforms acted without restrictions.

3. Standards as a compass: Establish technical and ethical frameworks to guide responsible development, preventing a repeat of power concentration history.

4. Protection of minors: Create specific safeguards against harmful content aimed at children and adolescents.

5. Supervision of user-generated content: Require platform companies to assume responsibility for content circulating on their networks.

6. Verifiable authentication: Implement verified identity systems that allow tracing content origin without compromising anonymity where appropriate.

7. User empowerment: Ensure individuals maintain genuine control over their personal data, with transparency about how it is used.

8. Balancing innovation and security: Promote new technologies and business models while managing associated risks.

9. Multi-stakeholder dialogue: Consider perspectives of developers, users, companies, regulators, and civil society in policy formulation.

10. Digital sustainability: Foster an ecosystem where business profitability coexists with social and environmental responsibility.

Regulatory challenges facing Web4 in Europe

Implementing a comprehensive Web4 strategy presents significant challenges for European institutions:

Internal heterogeneity: EU member states have differing perspectives on emerging technologies. While there is a general consensus on caution, coordinating coherent regulations across 27 countries is complex.

Conceptual gap: The EU recognizes that Web3 has overly emphasized technical aspects, underestimating social and security risks. Web4 must correct this bias.

Protection without stifling: The main dilemma is how to protect users, children, and communities from harmful content, fraud, and manipulation without discouraging innovation that could benefit society.

New Digital Services Act: The EU is drafting legislation that will impose greater responsibilities on internet platforms and social networks. This regulation must be clear but flexible to keep pace with rapid technological change.

Learning from past mistakes: The EU aims not to repeat Web2 errors, where lack of early regulation allowed tech giants to monopolize the digital space. But acting too quickly could also close opportunities.

Global influence: European regulatory decisions tend to set international standards. The EU’s Web4 strategy will likely shape how other countries and regions approach these technologies.

Resolving tensions: Different interest groups have conflicting demands: developers seek freedom, users demand privacy, companies pursue profitability, and activists call for social justice. Harmonizing these interests is a monumental task.

Technical uncertainty: The pace of innovation in AI, IoT, and extended reality often outstrips regulatory capacity. The EU must develop frameworks that work even with unforeseen technologies.

Europe’s impact on global digital governance

What makes the EU’s Web4 strategy particularly relevant is that it not only regulates its own territory. Historically, European regulations like GDPR have become de facto global standards, forcing tech companies worldwide to adapt.

The EU’s Web4 proposal represents a different model from the prevailing approaches in the United States (where innovation is prioritized with minimal regulation) and China (where the state tightly controls digital services). Europe seeks a “third way” where technology, responsibility, and human rights coexist.

This approach suggests a deeper shift: from an Internet dominated by private platforms with reactive regulation to a digital ecosystem where multiple actors share responsibilities from the outset.

Conclusion: preparing for the next revolution

The EU’s Web4 strategy indicates that the future of the Internet will not simply be a technical evolution of Web3 but a reimagining of how we build digital systems that balance innovation, privacy, security, and justice.

Although the path is long and obstacles remain, it’s clear that a new regulatory order for the digital economy is emerging. Europe’s Web4 experience will serve as a crucial reference for governments and regulators worldwide facing similar questions: how to enable technology to thrive without compromising our core values?

As Web4 moves from concept to reality, let’s stay attentive to this transformation that will redefine how we live, work, and connect online.