The man who invented the web says it’s now dysfunctional with ‘perverse’ incentives... no longer a “force for good.”
The man who invented the web says it’s now dysfunctional
with ‘perverse’ incentives
Elizabeth Schulze PUBLISHED MON, MAR 11 2019 • 5:00 PM
EDT | UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO
KEY POINTS
·
Tim Berners-Lee first envisioned the World Wide
Web 30 years ago.
·
In a letter published Monday, Berners-Lee said
he understands concerns that the web is no longer a “force for good.”
·
Berners-Lee laid out three reasons why the web
is dysfunctional, including “perverse incentives” from ad-based business
models.
Thirty years ago, the World Wide Web was born.
But over the next 30 years, it needs to be “changed for
the better,” according to its inventor.
British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee laid out his
vision for an information management system, which would become the World Wide
Web, in March 1989. The blueprint would radically transform society as half the
world’s population went online in just three decades. But in a letter published
Monday marking the web’s 30th anniversary, Berners-Lee said he understands
concerns that the internet is no longer a “force for good.”
“The fight for the web is one of the most important
causes of our time,” Berners-Lee said.
3 ‘sources of dysfunction’
In the letter, Berners-Lee laid out “three sources of
dysfunction” affecting the web today. The first, he said, is deliberate and
malicious behavior like state-sponsored hacking and online harassment.
Berners-Lee made the case for new laws to curb this behavior online while still
maintaining the openness of the internet.
“Governments must translate laws and regulations for the
digital age,” he said. “They must ensure markets remain competitive, innovative
and open.”
An open web has been a sticking point for Berners-Lee.
From the outset, he chose to make the underlying code of the World Wide Web
available to anyone without a fee.
Berners-Lee said the system has since been designed with
“perverse” incentives, which he sees as the second source of dysfunction in the
web today. He singled out ad-based revenue models, used by many tech giants
like Google and Facebook, that reward “clickbait and the viral spread of
misinformation.” The web’s inventor has previously attacked big tech companies
including Facebook, Google and Twitter for exploiting people’s personal data.
“Companies must do more to ensure their pursuit of
short-term profit is not at the expense of human rights, democracy, scientific
fact or public safety,” he said in the letter Monday.
Finally, Berners-Lee pointed to the “unintended negative
consequences” of the web’s design, like polarizing discussions taking place
online. Citizens play the most important role, he said, in fostering healthy
conversations on the internet and taking responsibility for their personal
data.
Hate speech and bullying has become a hot-button issue
for tech companies trying to balance free speech and potentially harmful
content online. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, for example, have taken big
steps to remove offensive content on their platforms. Meanwhile regulators
around the world are weighing measures against big tech companies to better
protect users’ personal data.
‘Contract for the Web’
Last October, Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web Foundation
released its “Contract for the Web” that laid out guidelines for citizens,
companies and governments to help put the web back on its original course. The
proposal has been backed by politicians, industry groups and major tech
companies, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft, but it’s unclear whether
it’s had any direct effect on business. Berners-Lee said in his letter Monday
the group aims to have a result from the initiative later this year.
One pillar of the contract is treating the web as a basic
right for everyone, an idea that is far from reality today. The World Bank
estimates roughly half of the world’s population still does not have access to
the internet. In a report published Monday, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) found more than four in 10 rural households
in OECD countries don’t have access to the fast fixed broadband needed to
support the Internet of Things, whereas nearly nine in 10 households in urban
areas have fast connections.
“If we give up on building a better web now, then the web
will not have failed us. We will have failed the web,” Berners-Lee said Monday.
Comments
Post a Comment