Pew predicts anti-web protests by 2020

A new report from Pew Internet suggests discord over the role of the internet is set to increase

The latest Pew Internet and America Life report paints a contrasting picture of the future of the internet.

Published this week, the Future of the Internet II study asked hundreds of technology experts for their views on how the internet will function in 2020. Most of the respondents agreed that it would be a thriving, low-cost network available to nearly all the world’s population.

However, some predicted that industry might want to keep the crown jewels of the internet, limiting its use. “The center of the resistance, they say, will be in the businesses anxious to preserve their current advantages and in policy circles where control over information and communication is a central value. In addition, a significant number of these dissenters argued that the world will not flatten enough to wipe away persistent social inequities,” the report says.

While some people will stay offline because of their economic circumstances, others could as a protest. Many people polled by Pew said that they thought a class of “technology refuseniks” would emerge, and that some will commit acts of violence in protest at technology.

Privacy is expected to continue to be an issue, with internet users having to decide how much of their information they are willing to share, as the web becomes more pervasive.

Others had different opinions, expressing concerns about the spread of technology. The report said that some respondents feared that, “technological progress will eventually create machines and processes that move beyond human control”.