Web Inventor Berners-Lee Wants Online Freedom

[Ultŕaman]

Web Inventor Berners-Lee Wants Online Freedom

Sir Tim Berners-Lee says governments and companies should not be able to gain "total control" of the internet.

12:15pm, Wednesday 26 June 2013

Sir Tim wants the internet to remain free from government control

The founder of the world wide web has called for safeguards to prevent his invention being controlled by governments or large companies.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee's warning came as he and five colleagues were recognised by the Queen for their pioneering work.

Asked about claims made by fugitive American whistleblower Edward Snowden that governments have accessed people's online communications, the scientist said the internet should not be "undercut".

"The original design for the web of 24 years ago was for a universal space," he said. "We didn't have a particular computer, browser or language in mind.

"When you make something universal ... it can be used for good things or nasty things.

Sir Tim receives his engineering award from the Queen

"We just have to make sure it's not undercut by any large companies or governments trying to use it and get total control."

Together with Robert Khan, Vint Cerf, Louis Pouzin and Marc Andreessen, Sir Tim was awarded the inaugural £1m Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering at a reception at Buckingham Palace.

Their work in establishing the internet - a network of interconnected computer systems - and later interlinked web pages accessed via the internet has revolutionised communication.

The Queen said their achievements had "completely changed" aspects of modern life, adding: "The internet and the world wide web have brought the world and its people together in ways we could not have imagined 60, or even 30, years ago."

 

[Ultŕaman]

Web pioneer Berners-Lee accuses West of hypocrisy over internet spying and insists internet freedom must be safeguarded

• British inventor describes internet spying by governments as 'insidious'
• Said snooping in Middle East has led to people being jailed
  
• Questioned whether governments can safely protect such sensitive data

By STEVE ROBSON PUBLISHED: 05:49 GMT, 26 June 2013 | UPDATED: 08:33 GMT, 26 June 2013

Internet pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee has said his invention of the world wide web should be safeguarded - and has accused Western nations of hypocrisy over web spying. The computer scientist's words of warning came as he and five other colleagues were recognised by the Queen for their pioneering working in helping to create the internet and the web.The British inventor said his creation of the internet should be protected from being controlled by governments or large corporations.

'Insidious': British inventor Tim Berners-Lee has criticised Western governments for web spying

Asked to comment on the claims made by fugitive American whistle-blower Edward Snowden that his invention is being used by governments to access communications between individuals, Sir Tim said:
'The original design of the web of 24 years ago was for a universal space, we didn't have a particular computer in mind or browser, or language.

'When you make something universal...it can be used for good things or nasty things...we just have to make sure it's not undercut by any large companies or governments trying to use it and get total control.'It has been claimed Snowden exposed alleged mass surveillance activities of the US and British governments. They are accused of using classified intelligence programmes, PRISM and Tempora, to spy on citizens.

Controversy: Sir Tim's comments come in the wake of revelations that British intelligence agency GCHQ has allegedly been spying on web and phone usage

Snowden – a former CIA employee - has fled to Hong Kong after claiming that the US National Security Agency has had access to data held by nine of the world’s top internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Skype. He is now believed to have escaped to Moscow after being charged with treason by the US authorities. Sir Tim went on to criticise security services in the US and Britain for employing data surveillance tactics and questioned whether they are capable of keeping such sensitive information safe.'In the Middle East, people have been given access to the internet but they have been snooped on and then they have been jailed,' he told The Times newspaper.'Obviously, it can be easy for people in the West to say "Oh those nasty governments should not be allowed access to spy". But it's clear that developed nations are seriously spying on the internet.'He added that such practices would put people off using the internet in the future. He said many use the internet in 'intimate' ways and that they would not continue to do so if 'people feel that there's somebody looking over their shoulder.'

Row: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, left, has claimed that British and US intelligence agencies circumvent the law to spy on citizens but William Hague, right, said the allegations are 'baseless'

William Hague has defended the collaboration between Britain’s GCHQ agency and the National Security Agency in America as a ‘cornerstone’ of national security that had protected London.
He said intelligence obtained from the secret US eavesdropping operation helped prevent terror attacks at the 2012 Olympics. The Foreign Secretary dismissed as ‘baseless’ claims that British spy chiefs have used the American espionage programme Prism to circumvent UK law and snoop on emails and phone calls. Sir Tim has previously voiced oppistion to the Government's proposed Draft Communications Bill, dubbed by opponents as a 'snooper's charter'.He described the legislation as 'draconian' and said it would diminish Britain's reputation as one of the countries which makes best use of the internet.The inventor's work in establishing first the internet, a network of interconnected computer systems, then interlinked web pages accessed via the internet has revolutionised communication.

He originally developed the web to meet the demand for information-sharing between physicists in universities and institutes around the world. Sir Tim, Robert Kahn, Vint Cerf and Louis Pouzin were jointly awarded the inaugural £1 million Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering during a glittering Buckingham Palace reception attended by the leaders of the three main parties - David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband.The Queen described how their achievements had 'completely changed' aspects of modern life and hailed engineering as the 'noble profession'.
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[DuYunQi]

This man probably can't, and/or, won't step into SG.. he could be arrested or jailed after hearing what happens to online content here.. methinks he might bo off his head and start saying "things" that won't be "right"..

Best to stay away from SG, Sir Tim Berners-Lee