ReutersMar 12, 2021 6:16:04 AM IS
LONDON (Reuters) – Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, said the dominance of internet giants was a “fad” that shouldn’t be endured, adding that urgent changes were needed to bridge the digital divide among young people Improve people’s online access to people.
Berners-Lee, who invented the Internet navigation system known as the World Wide Web in 1989, said he had “felt a sense of turmoil out there, a feeling that we have to tip things over to change them”.
High profile incidents like a dispute between Facebook and Australia that resulted in the social network blocking news feeds in the country have prompted many citizens and governments to review their relationships with giant internet and social media companies.
“I’m optimistic because we’ve seen some dominant fashions on the internet … and then things change,” he said in an interview with Reuters, adding that people are pushing back against the use and misuse of personal information.
“(There is) great awareness that things have to change.”
He said a combination of government policy and technology could work together to help people regain control of their data and their online lives.
Berners-Lee, 65, is working on a project called Solid, where people’s personal information is controlled by the user, not platforms like Facebook.
However, in a letter marking the 32nd birthday of the World Wide Web, he warned of a growing digital divide that could threaten the opportunities of many young people, to whom one in three between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide has no access to the Internet at all.
He said the recognition of the internet as a fundamental right, much like electricity has been seen in the last century, is vital, especially in a world that is increasingly shaped by people with internet access.
“The only reasonable thing is that … things are accelerating (and continuing to accelerate),” he told Reuters. “We’re taking another step in the speed at which the world is changing.”
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Catherine Evans)
This story was not edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by automatic feed.
