WyzGuys Tech Talk

Tim Berners-Lee, the man who gave us the World Wide Web protocol in 1989, and turned the Arpanet into a global communications network of unprecedented scale, is worried about the health of the Internet.

Governments are using the Internet for mass surveillance, and big Internet companies and merchants collect, analyze, buy, and sell more personal data about each of us. Internet trolls and other bad actors use the Internet for criminal activity, shaming and bullying, and distribution of malware applications.  Sir Tim is disappointed and concerned about the direction the Internet is heading.

He has come up with a set on nine principles that read a bit like an online bill of rights.  Or better yet, a bill of responsibilities.

• Principle 1 – Governments will… Ensure everyone can connect to the internet
• Principle 2 – Governments will… Keep all of the internet available, all of the time
• Principle 3 – Governments will… Respect and protect people’s fundamental online privacy and data rights
• Principle 4 – Companies will… Make the internet affordable and accessible to everyone
• Principle 5 – Companies will… Respect and protect people’s privacy and personal data to build online trust
• Principle 6 – Companies will… Develop technologies that support the best in humanity and challenge the worst
• Principle 7 – Citizens will… Be creators and collaborators on the web
• Principle 8 – Citizens will… Build strong communities that respect civil discourse and human dignity
• Principle 9 – Citizens will… Fight for the web

150 organizations have endorsed these principles, including Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook.  Missing for the time being are privacy advocates Cloudflare and Mozilla (Firefox).  Already we see attacks on a free and open Internet coming from the Russians, Chinese, North Korea, and Iran, so there is a way to go before we can declare these principles to be fully enacted.  Nevertheless, it is a good start heading in the right direction.