- Feb 7, 2014
- 1,540
The man credited with inventing the World Wide Web some 28 years ago, says it faces three major threats – and we should all be worried.
In an open letter to the world, Tim Berners Lee, has said we are all losing control of our personal data, that the spread of fake news is concerning, and the lack of regulation around political advertising needs to be fixed. Tim Berners-Lee states: “I imagined the web as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities, and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries. In many ways, the web has lived up to this vision, though it has been a recurring battle to keep it open. But over the past 12 months, I’ve become increasingly worried about three new trends, which I believe we must tackle in order for the web to fulfil its true potential as a tool that serves all of humanity.”
Web intended as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information.
Personal data we shouldn’t have to give up when we use the Web
Berners-Lee is first of all concerned about how much personal data people surrender when they sign up to terms and conditions on websites and install apps. “As our data is then held in proprietary silos, out of sight to us, we lose out on the benefits we could realise if we had direct control over this data, and chose when and with whom to share it. What’s more, we often do not have any way of feeding back to companies what data we’d rather not share – especially with third parties – the T&Cs are all or nothing.” The risks of this practice increase in countries that have authoritarian regimes, or where hidden communication between companies and governments can put citizens’ lives at risk.
In an open letter to the world, Tim Berners Lee, has said we are all losing control of our personal data, that the spread of fake news is concerning, and the lack of regulation around political advertising needs to be fixed. Tim Berners-Lee states: “I imagined the web as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities, and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries. In many ways, the web has lived up to this vision, though it has been a recurring battle to keep it open. But over the past 12 months, I’ve become increasingly worried about three new trends, which I believe we must tackle in order for the web to fulfil its true potential as a tool that serves all of humanity.”
Web intended as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information.
Personal data we shouldn’t have to give up when we use the Web
Berners-Lee is first of all concerned about how much personal data people surrender when they sign up to terms and conditions on websites and install apps. “As our data is then held in proprietary silos, out of sight to us, we lose out on the benefits we could realise if we had direct control over this data, and chose when and with whom to share it. What’s more, we often do not have any way of feeding back to companies what data we’d rather not share – especially with third parties – the T&Cs are all or nothing.” The risks of this practice increase in countries that have authoritarian regimes, or where hidden communication between companies and governments can put citizens’ lives at risk.
