Way back in 1999, science fiction writer David Gerrold made an eerily accurate prediction when he said, “Having all that connectivity is going to destroy what’s left of everyone’s privacy.”
He was right. Governments do struggle to legislate technology – it's hard to keep up – and privacy has been no exception. We’ve seen something of a data-harvesting free-for-all, from the big technology players and the likes of Cambridge Analytica.
It’s reached the point where even voracious data harvester Mark Zuckerberg recently wrote about his vision for the future of social networking, stating: “I believe a privacy-focused communications platform will become even more important than today’s open platforms.”
Governments are slowly but surely catching up, putting users back in control of their data and privacy, with legislation like GDPR and CCPA (soon to be CPRA). 2021 saw the biggest-ever penalties enforced for breaking GDPR rules; Amazon was handed an enormous 746 million Euro fine for its handling of personal data through cookies, almost 15 times the previous record.
As for the UK, there has been much discussion about how privacy and data protection laws will change post-Brexit. Currently, there are plans to overhaul the system and create a new, independent data regime.

In the post-Brexit era, the UK government plans to overhaul current privacy systems in favour of an independent data regime. Source: Gov.uk
Prediction
Concerns about web privacy will continue to grow. We’ll see more laws like GDPR, which will develop and evolve, and the UK will introduce a new independent system which may diverge from the current UK-GDPR framework.
- As GDPR is clarified through test cases and further legislation, potentially including the ePrivacy Regulation, we’ll see the EU continue to lead the charge for privacy globally.
- Keep an eye on the United States, too, as states adopt new and further privacy legislation. The Biden administration is close to reaching a data-sharing agreement to replace Privacy Shield, the framework that allowed transatlantic sharing of customer data.
- More countries will embrace data protection - often baked into trade and security agreements negotiated with the EU.
- Businesses will shift away from third-party cookies and towards server-side tracking and automation – though some say this will favour the big tech platforms more than consumers.
- And to help them comply and protect customer data, businesses will adopt Privacy by Design, Security by Design and automation tools.
As designers and developers in the digital profession, it's down to us to build compliant, safe websites and digital products. That’s where Privacy by Design can help. We have a crucial role to play in the future of privacy on the internet – a good place to start is an audit with our GDPR checklist.
5. The Internet of Things – the world around us goes digital
“Alexa, what does the future of the world wide web hold?” It’s getting easier and more seamless to find information and make transactions using our voices. And that’s just one facet of the Internet of Things. From smart lightbulbs to self-ordering fridges, connected vehicles to body-monitoring wearables, we’re starting to see the potential of the web to save us time and even make us healthier.
As Geoff Mulgan, professor at UCL put it, “As the internet of things advances, the very notion of a clear dividing line between reality and virtual reality becomes blurred, sometimes in creative ways.” We’re starting to see that blurring now – and it’s going to transform the world around us.
Prediction
Over the next decade, being able to talk to your home, car or devices won’t just be a bonus – it’ll become essential. We’ll find new ways to integrate supportive and helpful technology into daily life, with automation and alerts to help us better manage our time and resources. We’ll see whole industries transformed by smart devices, robotics and automated software. And increasingly, those technologies will talk to each other, independent of humans.
But with these developments come security threats. More connected devices mean more potential entry-points for hackers and fraudsters. And, sadly, ‘tech abuse’, using tech such as spyware and smart devices for stalking and other abusive purposes, is now commonplace. Refuge, the domestic violence charity, recently launched a dedicated tech abuse website to support victims against a stratospheric increase in cases. We’re going to have to work hard as an industry to combat that. Standards and processes like Privacy by Design and Security by Design will be essential as we ensure that the websites, devices and services we build are hard to exploit.
6. Identity in the digital space
As the Internet of Things integrates with our lives, and our time shifts further to online or digitally enhanced experiences, we’ll start to reflect on what it means to be human. Where is the line between us and technology? With the singularity approaching, it’s going to get blurry.

That might help me remember where I left my car keys, but along with the potential of AI, we’re going to have to deal with threats like deepfakes and – as we’re already seeing – mass-targeted misinformation. AI is advancing at speed. Deep learning systems are now able to produce realistic fake imagery and videos that indeed ‘feel 100% real’. If you think fake news is a problem right now, just wait a few years – there'll be a tsunami of the stuff.
But it’s not all bad news. AI doesn’t just produce deepfakes – it can also be used to combat them. Blockchain technology can give us far more powerful security checks and identity verification, for example by supporting Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).
Speaking of security, identity safety is becoming more of a concern as more and more areas of our lives become digitized. The British government have been developing a new digital identity framework, planning a future where physical documents will be replaced by digital identities. These will be used for purposes such as buying alcohol, opening a bank account, starting a new job, and any other circumstance where a person needs to prove their identity.
From April 2022, landlords and employers in Britain will be able to use digital identity document validation technology (IDVT) to carry out digital identify checks on prospective tenants or employees.
Many other countries are also putting plans in place to develop inclusive, internationally-recognised digital identity systems, such as the European Digital Identity Wallet.
Frameworks like these aim to:
- Reduce the risk of identity theft
- Reduce fraud to organisations and individuals
- Reduce manual data processing errors
- Aid post-pandemic economic recovery by facilitating trade and travel between countries

Matt Warman MP, Minister for Digital Infrastructure, is one of the MPs working on the government’s Digital Identity and Attributes consultation to create a new framework for the use of digital identities. Source: Gov.uk
Prediction
While technology is theoretically neutral, in practice, there are design biases and people who take advantage of tech for nefarious purposes. This means we’re going to see AI and blockchain used for good as well as evil. It’s likely to be a rocky ride – with some big winners and losers along the way.
Blockchain currently requires the use of large amounts of processing power and energy, but with refinement, regulation and the adoption of new structures, will start to become a more sustainable and widely-used solution in digital identity technology.
In the UK, the new digital identity frameworks are likely to be even more widely adopted and enhanced. Like the Estonian system, it’ll be underpinned by blockchain technology to ensure, for example, the security of your personal health data. And our data will be anonymised and could be used to inform policymaking.
This adds fuel to the need for digital accessibility, too – if an organisation as fundamental to our lives as the NHS adopts digital identification to deliver its services in person or on the web, we need to be sure that's done inclusively.
So what will the future of the world wide web be?
I’d like to finish with a quote from Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

I wholeheartedly agree. Ask me what the web will be like in 30 years, and I’ll have to say, I’m not sure. But when I think about the future of the web by 2052, I know this: There will be things we predicted, some major surprises, and we’ll have made some things a lot better. And after all, isn’t that what makes our work in digital so much fun?