Recently, Zuckerberg has had a difficult time.

The corporation has been criticized for data and privacy breaches, creating global public concern.

Even after adopting a new brand name, Meta, the social media behemoth that intended to present a new image, has not been able to resolve its dispute with the European Commission over the transfer of user data.

According to the EU's most recent data protection regulation, corporations who gather user data within the EU must keep and handle the data in this region. However, a portion of Facebook's and Instagram's data is still stored on U.S. servers, resulting in inevitable disputes between the two sides.

The Trend: Tightening Online Privacy Policies Worldwide

With big data technology, exposure to personal privacy brings a considerable bonus for online marketing. Platforms take advantage of massive amounts of data, including personal information, preferences, and user behaviors, with the intention of classifying and tracking users more accurately and comprehensively.

Therefore, companies like Meta that rely on personalized recommendation algorithms to generate revenue struggle to make ends meet under solid personal privacy protection.

In 2021, Apple rolled out significant additional privacy protections for iPhones and iPads, significantly impacting the tech industry. Under the new rules, advertisers can no longer track the effectiveness and delivery of social ads as they did before, creating big trouble for companies like Facebook and Instagram that make their money through targeted advertising.  

Since advertising accounts for 97.5 percent of Meta's revenue, the social giant's soft spot seems to be hit by Apple, as evidenced by Meta's disappointing earnings report released in early February this year.

Meanwhile, global governments have been making significant efforts to strengthen personal data regulation in light of the increasing incidence of data leaks. Living in a digital world, we all know how important data is. Not only is it necessary for a business to customize its products for its clients, but it may also reflect the economic and social position of a country. In the course of modernization, a nation may be exposed to unforeseeable threats in the absence of a data protection infrastructure.

As early as May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU hindered the unlimited use of data by large Internet companies like Google and Meta. Since implementing Apple's Application Tracking Transparency feature in April 2021, many of them are losing their edges in user growth, advertising revenue, and other traditional profit-making sectors.  

The same is true for the domestic market in China. The Chinese Advertising Association, and internet titans including Tencent and Bytedance, sought to develop a mechanism dubbed China Advertising ID (CAID) to avoid Apple's privacy adjustments. The mobile device manufacturer then issued a warning that it would remove programs from the Apple Store if they circumvented the privacy feature.

Chinese Internet companies will somehow utilize data to adjust their products just like their foreign counterparts. Still, the business model, which works by developers collecting data to draw user-profiles and do advertising, seems to have reached a tipping point. With IOS devices taking the lead, it is only a matter of time before we see Android and Windows follow up to launch their comprehensive privacy protection mechanisms.

The Fall of Personalized Recommendation

The emergence of more privacy policies is caused by increasing concerns from the public, as most recommendations are built on massive user data collection, and users are often unaware of it. Think of how often you scroll down to the page and have to click "agree" without reading the terms and conditions and how accurate your preferences and personality could be portrayed by analyzing digital footprints.

Imagine having a casual chat with your friend during lunch and speaking about a fancy wristwatch because you saw a stranger who passed your table wearing it. You had never heard of this watch model before, nor did you search for it on any e-commerce platforms. However, this exact watch just popped up on the front page of your shopping app, indicating you may want to add it to your cart.

Some customers may like this kind of tailored recommendation function, as it saves time and enhances search efficiency. With the help of big data technology, your mobile apps may know better than you. From news feeding to video sharing, food delivery, to online shopping, your interests and preferences are pretty familiar to your apps, which will rely on your data to achieve higher user stickiness.

The developers, product managers, and algorithm engineers behind these platforms work hard to create "additive" products every day. It is not a rare situation that you plan to watch a 3-minute video but end up browsing it for three hours. Even if you purchase nothing, your time and attention are enough for these companies to make profits.  

In the documentary "The Social Dilemma", companies seem to have three key goals when they obtain data:

Engagement: to increase the use and keep you coming back;

Growth: to get one user to bring more users;

Advertising: to tailor the advertisements and then make money from them.

In this era of personalized recommendation, a human being could be parsed into a series of data by algorithms, added with various labels by greedy companies whose primary income could just come from those digits from users. With the advancement of technology, the recommended material appears to get more specific to your expectations, to the point where it may sound unsettling and lead to unforeseeable outcomes.

Previously, platforms offered content based on users' needs. Now, our requirements may be inferred from the offered information.

It becomes more difficult to determine if a person visits a new restaurant or purchases a bag out of genuine desire or because they have viewed their filter-enhanced photographs too frequently.

The strengthening of personal privacy protection means enterprises cannot obtain, save, or use user information without authorization or permission. Right now, it may sound too early to say that personalized recommendations will reach a dead end. Nonetheless, we should be aware that in a world driven by algorithms, humans utilize tools and are not exploited by tools.

Something New in Web 3.0?

We have heard a range of buzzwords in the past year, with Web 3.0 being one of them. With the development of the Internet, traditional search engines and personalized recommendations may not work as well as they used to, driving people to develop new tools that could suit the new iteration of the World Wide Web.

But what is Web 3.0, and how will search engines and personalized recommendations do their bits in that?

In Web 1.0, search engines like Google and Baidu quickly rose to prominence with their technologies. Users just make simple inquiries and collect information. The search engines could not make accurate guesses about your likes and dislikes; search results and browsing time were more impacted by the interface design or editor picks.

Social applications such as Facebook, Instagram, QQ, and WeChat ushered the public into the era of Web 2.0. Users' engagement with the Internet has soared, and they are more willing to generate content based on platforms. Acting as the core players, those tech giants have formed multiple ecosystems that monopolize data, value, and network effects. Users are content creators, but platforms control absolute ownership, management, and distribution. This leads to intensifying conflicts as the majority of profits go to the wallets of those giants.

Web 3.0 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web based on blockchain technology. Through technologies like encryption and distributed storage, users could get general protection for their data privacy. They will have content ownership to distribute in the next stage of the Internet, and the values created by them can be further distributed following their contracts. As Neal Mohan, chief product officer at YouTube, said in his outlook for 2022: "Web3 also opens up new opportunities for creators. We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans. Together, they'll be able to collaborate on new projects and make money in ways not previously possible. For example, giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audiences. "  

With Web 3.0's blockchain protocols, users' data will be extremely secure.  

With creators regaining custody of their data, search engines and tailored recommendations may usher in revolutionary innovations that forever alter our Internet experience.