World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee launches ‘contract’ to end online abuse
- The document calls for stronger laws and regulations, companies that put democracy before profits and users to demand their ‘digital rights’
- Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook have announced their support, as have the governments of France, Germany and Ghana
“If we don’t act now – and act together – to prevent the web being misused by those who want to exploit, divide and undermine, we are at risk of squandering” its potential for good, Berners-Lee said in a statement from his World Wide Web Foundation.
Credited with laying the groundwork for the web – the universe of multimedia web pages accessible via the internet – in 1989, the computer scientist has been developing the so-called Contract for the Web since last year.
His unveiling of the final document on Monday comes as government, business and civil society leaders gather in Berlin for the four-day UN Internet Governance Forum.
Berners-Lee said his contract, developed in cooperation with dozens of experts and members of the public, is “a road map to build a better web”.