Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989 and after 30 years he has launched a Contract for the web initiative, a new set of principles that are specifically designed to “fix” the internet and save us from slipping into a “digital dystopia,” as reported by The Guardian.
The contract lists nine core principles for Governments, Companies, and Citizens to must stay with, including responsibilities to provide affordable, reliable internet access and to respect civil discourse and human dignity.
At launch, the initiative has received backing by over 150 organizations, including tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and DuckDuckGo, and nonprofit groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Guardian also reported that Amazon and Twitter were not listed on the homepage initially, but the logo of Twitter has been added to the website as of November 25th.
“It took all of us to build the web that we have. It will take all of us to secure its future.”
It’s also notable that the governments of Germany, France, and Ghana have also signed up to the Contract’s founding principles which call on governments to make sure everyone can connect to the internet and to keep the internet available all of the time. We have seen happening all around the world the governments shut down the internet service in an attempt to prevent protests from spreading.
