Web's creator calls for 'Online Bill of Rights'

by Ben Reilly Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:18 pm

The inventor of the world wide web believes an online "Magna Carta" is needed to protect and enshrine the independence of the medium he created and the rights of its users worldwide.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee told the Guardian the web had come under increasing attack from governments and corporate influence and that new rules were needed to protect the "open, neutral" system.

Speaking exactly 25 years after he wrote the first draft of the first proposal for what would become the world wide web, the computer scientist said: "We need a global constitution – a bill of rights."

Berners-Lee's Magna Carta plan is to be taken up as part of an initiative called "the web we want", which calls on people to generate a digital bill of rights in each country – a statement of principles he hopes will be supported by public institutions, government officials and corporations.

"Unless we have an open, neutral internet we can rely on without worrying about what's happening at the back door, we can't have open government, good democracy, good healthcare, connected communities and diversity of culture. It's not naive to think we can have that, but it is naive to think we can just sit back and get it."

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/12/online-magna-carta-berners-lee-web?CMP=ema_565

by Guest Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:39 pm

A very very difficult question - my feelings would be somewhere between 1 and 3 - but what about "the deep web" - that massive area of virtual communication that is god knows how many times the size of what we call the World Wide Web.

I suspect the virtual world is going to be very much like pandoras box - once opened it can never be closed however much some might want to

by groomsy Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:49 am

i wanna surf my porn in peace!

by Guest Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:08 am

certain things should and must be kept off the internet, child porn being the obvious but it is indeed a very tricky subject, who should decide what is and is not good taste or even offensive, what is hate speech and what is opinion to be shared.

I am not a fan of censorship, that should be down to the individual, if you don't like it don't read it, watch it or whatever but if rules are made they must apply equally to all and that in itself is a problem...

by Guest Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:09 am

No, I prefer to be able to snoop on everybody.

by veya_victaous Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:58 am

sphinx wrote:A very very difficult question - my feelings would be somewhere between 1 and 3 - but what about "the deep web" - that massive area of virtual communication that is god knows how many times the size of what we call the World Wide Web.

I suspect the virtual world is going to be very much like pandoras box - once opened it can never be closed however much some might want to

Sort of
those that know already know it is all there, rule 34 etc. silent

None of this stuff even legally effects Intranets (private 'gated' internets)
no one will enforce it.
It is not really a magic space, Imagine a party full of conversations the www is just one of the conversations, the vast majority of other data is not really made for consumption by people (it is things like syncing, gaming data, VoIP communications).

Also it was never closed, you just have to know it's there. it has been there since BEFORE the world wide web just most people didn't know because they have no need to. most of the 'deep web' as people call it Suspect

exists for a few moments and them ceases to exists. Like the strings and hidden pulleys that allow the illusionist to perform his tricks, the links and data of the 'deep web' is what allows the 'White Man's Magic' to function and the users experience to be what it is today.

PS. an hour and half till I send about 16,000TB (or 16Petabytes) across the 'deep web' just to sync application distribution points. it really is not as dark and secretive as media make it sound Wink