The inventor who innovated the internet has some regrets.
Tim Berners-Lee, the brain behind the World Wide Web, raised doubts on his creation’s ability to be a force for good in a letter published for his foundation on Monday.
The letter comes on the web’s 30th birthday, but Berners-Lee says there’s really nothing to celebrate: The web has “created opportunity for scammers, given a voice to those who spread hatred, and made all kinds of crime easier to commit,” he wrote.
Part of the problem lies in “state-sponsored hacking,” such as Russian meddling in the 2016 and 2018 elections.
Another issue, he says, is “clickbait,” where revenue models reward the spread of misinformation. Berners-Lee says there ought to be other incentives or ways to make money, though he doesn’t go into detail on how that might take shape.
Lastly, he adds, online discourse on social media had good intentions, but it has created an environment of outrage and polarization. The effect of social media on mental health spans everything from sleep issues to cyberstalking and suicide.
He’s not hopeless, though. His foundation is working with web companies and governments on a Contract for the Web, which will “establish clear norms, laws and standards that underpin the web.” Facebook, Google and the French government have signed the contract, CNN reports.
He hopes governments will keep web advocates on board that will “stand up to protect an open web” and that companies will keep privacy and security in mind when designing their platforms and products. Users too should do their best to advocate for a free, open and safe web and “Foster constructive healthy conversations online.”
“Given how much the web has changed in the past 30 years, it would be defeatist and unimaginative to assume that the web as we know it can’t be changed for the better in the next 30,” he says.
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