Tim Berners-Lee calls for internet bill of rights
Web pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee has called for the creation of an internet bill of rights in order to preserve the neutrality of the web from increasing encroachment of governments and big business.
Berners-Lee argues that new rules would keep such influences in check, preserving the largely ‘open, neutral’ network we enjoy today, after raisding concerns at the scale of government spying revealed by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Speaking to the guardian the web inventor said: “We need a global constitution – a bill of rights” and called on people in each country to outline a set of governing principles which government and business can abide by.
“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,” Berners-Lee said.