Welcome back to the Web5 newsletter!

Hello everybody!

This is the round-up of my Web5 week. Five links show you what, in my opinion, has been important in the Web5 orbit during the last few days.

Web5 is a new, decentralized web with priority on privacy and safety. It aims on everyone becoming the owner of his digital identity. In short: Web5 is the better Internet of the future.

And here we go.

1. Encrypted messengers under pressure

The UK Online Safety Bill, introduced by Boris Johnson, is currently going through Parliament. By this new law, service providers like Signal or WhatsApp would be forced to scan messages in their apps for material of terrorism and child abuse. In that case, Signal's Meredith Whittaker said, the organization will stop its service in the UK.

Be smart! This is not just a UK issue. With Chat Control, the EU has similar plans and especially child abuse is repeatedly cited as the reason. What makes it particularly difficult because nobody, of course, wants to support child abuse. This killer argument is slowly replacing the old one of terrorism. Very worrying.

2. This could change Social Media

This week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases -- Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh -- that have the potential to fundamentally change the way social media companies recommend and moderate content. Both cases affect the scope of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act, which protects internet platforms from liability for content posted on their platforms. For the first time those platforms would become accountable.

3. Podcast: Bing AI chatbot freaks out 🎧

On Valentine’s Day, after a meal with his wife, Kevin Roose, a New York Times technology columnist, had a two-hour conversation with the chatbot.

The chatbot, which revealed that it identified as Sydney, told Kevin that it wanted to be human, that it loved him, and that he should leave his wife.

Worth listening to, especially with all the AI hype at the moment.

4. AI will increase insecurity

This Vice article shows how to break into a bank account with AI. Biometric security tools have been criticized for a long time. With AI it’s getting even more dangerous. So be careful when using your fingerprint, face, or voice. Everything appears copyable by now.

5. Web5 has a lot to do

A simple list, but a lot to think about and even more to do.

Five things that will drive authoritarians nuts over the next ten years.

Web5: “Working on it!” 😃

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See you next week!