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tim berners lee
Tim Berners-Lee Wants to Enable Internet Users to Own Their Personal Data
"You need to get back to a situation where you have autonomy, you have control of all your data," says the inventor of the World Wide Web.
Dec 19, 2022
The creator of the World Wide Web is on a mission to reinvent it and protect personal data from Big Tech.
"I think the public has been concerned about privacy--the fact that these platforms have a huge amount of data, and they abuse it," Tim Berners-Lee, who developed the concept of the web in 1989, toldCNN on Friday. "But I think what they're missing sometimes is the lack of empowerment. You need to get back to a situation where you have autonomy, you have control of all your data."
As the news outlet reported:
Through their startup Inrupt, Berners-Lee and CEO John Brucehave created the "Solid Pod"--or Personal Online Data Store. It allows people to keep their data in one central place and control which people and applications can access it, rather than having it stored by apps or sites all over the web.
Users can get a pod from a handful of providers, hosted by web services such as Amazon, or run their own server, if they have they the technical know-how. The main attraction to self-hosting is control and privacy, says Berners-Lee.
Thirty-three years after he invented the web, Berners-Lee--a longtime advocate of giving people power over their personal data online--believes that tech giants currently "control the world and manipulate people by providing information."
In an interview with Euronews Next at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon last month, Berners-Lee said that "some people thought that tech people would save the world then. Now, we're in a situation where there are a lot of things wrong with the web."
He has proposed "a mid-course correction to take it back," which he calls Web3.0.
The earliest iteration of the internet already existed in the 1970s, but few people knew how to access it. Everything changed when Berners-Lee, then a consultant at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), wrote the code for a web server that allows browsers to view hypertext documents. CERN put the software for the World Wide Web into the public domain in 1993.
As Euronews Next explained:
We then saw the emergence of the first stage of the internet, Web1.0. Despite it being available to everyone, it was a read-only type of web and only the few who knew the ins and outs of coding could publish anything.
This led to the development of Web2.0, which now allows us to interact more with the web and become creators so we can publish what we like under big platforms such as Google, Facebook, and so on.
But it does not come for free. In return, many of these companies can take our data which can be used for targeted advertising.
Berners-Lee's "solution to the dysfunctions of Web2.0 is the third layer of protocols, giving a person the ability to log into something with their own personal ID," the news outlet reported.
While working in his lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Berners-Lee came up with the "Solid Pod" idea and launched Inrupt in 2017. The company reportedly raised $30 million last December, which Berners-Lee says will help bring the project to fruition.
"Berners-Lee's platform can be accessed from your browser," Euronews Next noted. "But it is not an app; he calls it a 'pod,' where you can store your private data and access it very easily. In simpler terms, it can be thought of as your key or a digital ID that is kept secure."
"He said this is his vision for Web3.0, emphasizing that it is not Web3 which uses the Ethereum blockchain system and promises to be decentralized," the news outlet added. "Many cryptocurrency and metaverse companies wave the word Web3 around as the future of the internet. But Inrupt disagrees."
Bruce, the co-founder and CEO of Inrupt, said that "we're talking Web3.0 which is the real thing... not a marketing hijack if you like."
"Tim explained to me over dinner one night that the web as it's rolling out isn't the web we imagined," Bruce continued. "But we could get it to a place as long as we bumped it in the right way."
According to CNN, Inrupt's platform is being tested by the United Kingdom's National Health Service and by the government of Flanders, the Flemish-speaking northern region of Belgium. The latter intends to use pods to provide social services while allowing people to choose how to share their personal data. Berners-Lee said Flanders' 6.5 million citizens will be able to use the technology by the end of 2022.
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Web Inventor Tim Berners-Lee Argues Internet Access Must Be a 'Basic Right'
"We must work to make sure all young people can connect to a web that gives them the power to shape their world."
Mar 11, 2021
World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee on Friday marked the 32nd birthday his digital innovation by arguing that "we must recognize internet access as a basic right and we must work to make sure all young people can connect to a web that gives them the power to shape their world."
Noting that the milestone comes a day after the one-year anniversary of health experts declaring the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, Berners-Lee and World Wide Web Foundation co-founder Rosemary Leith wrote in a blog post that "as we repair and rebuild, we have an opportunity to reimagine our world and create something better. The web's power to catalyze change can and must help shape the world we want."
"Through funding for network infrastructure, subsidies, and support for community networks, we can get the web into the hands of every young person on Earth."
--Tim Berners-Lee and Rosemary Leith, World Wide Web Foundation
A critic of Big Tech firms and the global digital divide, Berners-Lee has long advocated for internet practices and policies that serve "humanity, science, knowledge, and democracy." To that end, the computer scientist unveiled in 2018 what he described as a "Magna Carta for the web."
Berners-Lee and Leith noted that the foundation is establishing a Tech Policy Design Lab to help realize the vision laid out in that "Contract for the Web," beginning with bringing together tech companies and women's rights groups to address online gender-based violence and abuse, particular against young women.
The pair also celebrated young people who are "using the web to create a better, fairer future," highlighting nine examples of individuals whose work "demonstrates this incredible potential" and "show how, in the hands of this generation, the web can help to overcome some of humanity's great challenges."
\u201cAcross the globe, young people see the web as a tool to fight for justice, expand opportunities, and find solutions to pressing problems.\n\nYoung leaders are using the web to build the world we want. Meet our #WebChampions \u2014 and share your own. https://t.co/uu4KINXyqd\u201d— Tim Berners-Lee (@Tim Berners-Lee) 1615544730
"The influence of these young people is felt across their communities and online networks," they wrote. "But today we're seeing just a fraction of what's possible. Because while we talk about a generation of 'digital natives,' far too many young people remain excluded and unable to use the web to share their talents and ideas."
As Berners-Lee and Leith detailed:
A third of young people have no internet access at all. Many more lack the data, devices, and reliable connection they need to make the most of the web. In fact, only the top third of under-25s have a home internet connection, according to UNICEF, leaving 2.2 billion young people without the stable access they need to learn online, which has helped so many others continue their education during the pandemic.
When young people do get online, too often they are confronted with abuse, misinformation, and other dangerous content, which threatens their participation and can force them from platforms altogether. This is especially true for those disproportionately targeted on the basis of their race, religion, sexuality, abilities, and gender.
The consequences of this exclusion affects everyone. How many brilliant young minds fall on the wrong side of the digital divide? How many voices of would-be leaders are being silenced by a toxic internet?
"Every young person who can't connect represents a lost opportunity for new ideas and innovations that could serve humanity," they added, specifically calling for massive investment in infrastructure as well as improvements in technology to promote access to the internet while making "users' rights and well-being a top priority."
"Through funding for network infrastructure, subsidies, and support for community networks, we can get the web into the hands of every young person on Earth," they wrote, citing an estimate from the foundation's Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) that a $428 billion investment over a decade would provide everyone around the world with a quality broadband connection.
"While we work to get all young people connected, we must also make sure technology is helpful, not harmful; inclusive, not exclusive," the pair emphasized. "Tech companies must understand the unique experiences and needs of young people and work with them to co-create products and services that respect their rights. And governments need to pass effective laws that govern technology and hold companies to account for creating responsible products and services."
The importance of universal access to high-quality, affordable broadband has increased over the past year, as many jobs, services, and educational programs have shifted online in response to the coronavirus pandemic--which has bolstered the case for treating the internet as a public utility across the globe.
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission recently established a program to help low-income households get and stay online during the pandemic, and a pair of congressional Democrats on Thursday introduced a bill that would invest $94 billion in broadband infrastructure to close the digital divide nationwide.
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Global Digital Divide a 'Barrier to Wider Equality' That Must Be Closed, Says World Wide Web Inventor Tim Berners-Lee
"This inequality is a barrier to wider equality, and we know it most affects those who are already marginalized."
Jun 12, 2020
The inventor of the World Wide Web is warning that global inequality is being exacerbated by a lack of access to the internet for the poor and urging world leaders to act to close the gap and ensure equity of opportunity for those in developing countries.
"This inequality is a barrier to wider equality, and we know it most affects those who are already marginalized," Tim Berners-Lee said during remarks at the launch of U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres' Roadmap for Digital Cooperation Thursday.
\u201c\u201cThis inequality is a barrier to wider equality, and we know it most affects those who are already marginalized," Tim Berners-Lee said. \u201cMen are 21 percent more likely than women to be online, and 52 percent more likely in the least developing countries.\u201d https://t.co/ObmjJGJ4Q5\u201d— Deccan Chronicle (@Deccan Chronicle) 1591968363
The roadmap aims to help communities around the world access the internet, reducing inequalities of connectivity in poorer countries. Berners-Lee noted that those inequities have become more pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic which has left 3.5 billion people without the "lifeline" of connectivity provided by the internet for work and socialization.
"Our number one focus must be to close the digital divide," said Berners-Lee.
In his remarks to the forum, Guterres stressed the importance of internet connectivity to international cooperation and the need to resolve inequities in access in the age of the coronavirus.
"Digital technology is central to almost every aspect of the response to the pandemic, from vaccine research to online learning models, e-commerce, and tools that are enabling hundreds of millions of people to work and study from home," said Guterres. "But the digital divide is now a matter of life and death for people who are unable to access essential healthcare information."
\u201c\u201cWe cannot reap the full benefits of the digital age without mobilizing global cooperation to close digital gaps and reduce potential harms\u201d, @UN chief @antonioguterres\ntold a virtual High-Level Debate on Thursday.\n#DigitalCooperation \n \nhttps://t.co/gbLzAcMX4p\u201d— UN News (@UN News) 1591941600
The roadmap intends to provide a path to universal connectivity worldwide by 2030.
"We cannot reap the full benefits of the digital age without mobilizing global cooperation to close digital gaps and reduce potential harms," said Guterres. "We urgently need global vision and leadership for our digitally interdependent world."
Efforts are underway in the U.S. to ensure the richest country in the world is providing internet connectivity to the public.
"There's no excuse for our failure to bring every household online," tweeted Rep. Ro Khanna Thursday. "Affordable internet access is a basic right."
\u201cAlmost half of the people living on tribal lands lack access to broadband.\u00a0\n\nIn 2020.\u00a0\n\nThere\u2019s no excuse for our failure to bring every household online. Affordable internet access is a basic right.\u201d— Rep. Ro Khanna (@Rep. Ro Khanna) 1591906800
As Common Dreams reported in March, social distancing restrictions brought on by the coronavirus crisis sparked renewed demands for universal broadband access across the U.S. as the inequities in the system to rural and marginaized communities developed into a crisis while Americans shifted work and school to online spaces.
FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted Thursday that equality of connectivity must be a priority for the country beore the beginning of the next school year.
"Millions of kids couldn't go to school this year because they don't have internet at home," said Rosenworcel. "If next year brings more of the same, shame on us."
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