World Wide Web Turns Twenty Five

The World Wide Web marked its landmark anniversary last week. It was twenty five years ago, in March 1989, that Tim Berners-Lee, then a computer programmer at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, wrote a proposal to his employers for an abstract “global hypertext” system he called Mesh. He renamed the system as World Wide Web, a year later.

Tim Berners-Lee told the Guardian that the Web had come under increasing attack from governments and corporates and that an online “Magna Carta” was needed to protect the “open, neutral” system and the rights of its users worldwide. He cited that the revelations of mass surveillance by the NSA and other agencies have caused international outrage and much sorrow and appreciated whistle blowers like Edward Snowden.

Burners-Lee hopes to re-invent the World Wide Web through the “Web We Want” initiative, which aims to create a universal “Internet Users Bill of Rights.” The Main objective of the proposal is to spread net access to the nearly two thirds of the world that still doesn’t have access to it. Other targets include establishing clear regulations and protecting personal user information. The Web We Want campaign will rely on mass mobilization across industries, nations and activist bodies for its success, he added.

Infoeditor