Tim Berners-Lee: NSA and GCHQ is 'dysfunctional and unaccountable'
The founder of the world wide web says the current system of checks and balances has failed, and that we need to protect whistleblowers
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist who created the world wide web, has called for a “full and frank public debate”over internet surveillance by the National Security Agency and its British counterpart, GCHQ, warning that the system of checks and balances over these two powerful bodies has failed.
As the inventor of the global system of inter-connectivity known as the web, with its now ubiquitous www and http, Berners-Lee is uniquely qualified to comment on the internet spying that has been revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
In an interview, he expressed particular outrage that GCHQ and NSA had weakened the security of the internet by cracking much of the online encryption on which hundreds of millions of users rely to protect the privacy of their data.
He said the agencies’ decision to break the encryption software was “appalling”and “foolish”, as it directly contradicted the efforts of both the US and UK governments to fight cybercrime and cyberwarfare, which they have identified as a top national security priority. Berners-Lee also decried the move as a betrayal of the technology industry.
In contrast to several senior British politicians - including prime minister David Cameron - who have called for the Guardian to be investigated over its reporting of the Snowden leaks, Berners-Lee sees both the news organisation and Snowden himself as having acted in the public interest.
“Whistleblowers, and responsible media outlets that work with them, play an important role in society. We need powerful agencies to combat criminal activity online - but any powerful agency needs checks and balances, and based on recent revelations it seems the current system of checks and balances has failed,”he said.