Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee says 'far too many young people' remain excluded from the internet
LONDON — Tim Berners-Lee, the British computer scientist credited with inventing the web in 1989, is concerned that a global "digital divide" is taking place because too many young people are unable to get online. In a letter published Friday, Berners-Lee and Rosemary Leith, co-founders of the non-profit Web Foundation, wrote: "Far too many young people remain excluded and unable to use the web to share their talents and ideas." A third of people aged 15 to 24 have no internet access at all, according to U.N. agency the International Telecommunication Union. "Many more lack the data, devices, and reliable connection they need to make the most of the web," wrote Berners-Lee and Leith in the Web Foundation's annual letter on what is the 32nd birthday of the world wide web. Work also needs to be done to protect young people when they do go on the internet, according to Berners-Lee and Leith.
cnbc.comWorld wide web inventor launches privacy platform for enterprises; NHS and BBC sign up
LONDON — Tim Berners-Lee, the English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the world wide web, has revealed that his latest start-up has launched a privacy platform for enterprises. The U.K.'s National Health Service, the BBC, NatWest Bank and the Flanders Government are among its early adopters. The start-up announced Monday that it had launched an enterprise version of its Solid platform. Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989 but has become increasingly concerned that today's digital giants are exploiting citizens around the world. Berners-Lee added that "Solid changes the current model where users have to hand over personal data to digital giants in exchange for perceived value."
cnbc.comWeb inventor: Closing digital divide must be top priority
TANZANIA World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee said Thursday the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the gross inequality of a world where almost half the population is unable to connect to the internet. Men remain 21 percent more likely than women to be online, and 52 percent more likely in the least developing countries.He spoke at the online launch of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. A first step is to develop new financial models to provide affordable connectivity to the Internet for everyone by 2030. The digital world has many benefits, but also has been gravely misused, Guterres said. Hate speech, discrimination and abuse are on the march in digital spaces, the U.N. chief said.
Web creator Tim Berners-Lee launches plan to 'fix' the internet
Rosdiana Ciaravolo | Getty ImagesTim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, is officially launching his plan to "fix" the internet. The World Wide Web Foundation, a non-profit campaign group set up by Berners-Lee, has secured the backing of tech giants Facebook, Google and Microsoft for the scheme, dubbed the "contract for the web." The British computer scientist first outlined his vision to overhaul organizations' approach to the internet at the Web Summit event last year. "Never before has the web's power for good been more under threat," Adrian Lovett, CEO of the World Wide Web Foundation, told CNBC in an interview Friday. The World Wide Web Foundation says it is working with partners to develop tools that can measure progress on the contract's various clauses.
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