©Mark Ollig
Tim Berners-Lee has been busy this
week, attending events celebrating his 30-year-old invention – the World Wide
Web.
Recently, he likened the web to a
“public square, a library, a shop, a school, a doctor’s office, a bank, and so
much more.”
“While the web has created opportunity,
given marginalized groups a voice, and made our daily lives easier, it has also
created an opportunity for scammers, giving a voice to those who spread hatred,
and make all kinds of crime easier to commit,” said Berners-Lee.
He has concerns about what is happening
to his web; here are three:
1. Deliberate, malicious intent, such
as state-sponsored hacking and attacks, criminal behavior, and online
harassment.
2. System design that creates perverse
incentives where user value is sacrificed, such as ad-based revenue models that
commercially reward clickbait and the viral spread of misinformation.
3. Unintended negative consequences of
benevolent design, such as the outraged and polarized tone and quality of
online discourse.
Berners-Lee acknowledges the web has
created many new opportunities, including giving people a platform where their
ideas and comments for improving society or a technical process can be easily
heard by millions.
Unfortunately, the web has also become
a venue for those who use it to spread negativity and online antipathy on a
variety of subjects.
Many of us witness this negativity
every day on social media.
We have seen online internet trolls who
start arguments. They seem to be, for one reason or another, on the internet
only to harass, distract, and upset people. They propagate their animosity with
a constant barrage of negative messages. These trolls usually have pictureless
profiles and anonymous or made-up names.
Most online trolls (many operate in
wolf-like packs) seem to get some kind of kick out of triggering other online
users’ emotions by posting negative replies and comments, or by continuously
forcing their online agenda and getting a kick from the frustration in other
people’s responses.
Whenever I come across these malicious
online trolls in social networks, I immediately block them from my timeline so
I don’t see them. I don’t play their game. It’s not worth getting stressed out,
which is precisely the reaction they are seeking. Don’t give them the
satisfaction; mostly, don’t let them stress you out.
Berners-Lee emphasized governments need
to interpret laws and regulations for the digital age we are living in, which
include protecting online individual user’s rights.
People who make up the “Web Champions”
take action whenever the interests of the online public are threatened.
These Web Champions, according to
Berners-Lee, can be civil servants and elected officials.
You and I can be Web Champions, too.
Examples of actions taken by Web
Champions around the world include:
1. Holding governments responsible for
ensuring a free and open internet/web.
2. Making sure the public has
affordable access to the internet/web.
3. Preventing governments from
censoring political and social content over the web.
4. Exposing government censorship of
the web, and revealing the role it plays in threatening citizens’ access to it.
5. Alleviating the public’s anxiety
about the web; education about its benefits is needed.
Security remains the web’s most
significant threat; companies and individuals are always vulnerable to privacy
and security risks.
Companies on the web need to test and
update their safeguards used to protect the data entrusted to them by their
customers. Secure online business practices always need to be encouraged.
Accountability needs to be enforced by
online websites – whether governmental, public, or private – storing personal
information.
Courses are available to minimize
network security threats, along with countermeasures to protect against
security hackers who attempt to infiltrate, intentionally breach security, and
disrupt key online networks, such national banking systems, governmental
agencies, and public utility companies. Popular social media networks, such as
Facebook and Twitter, have had their security breached and websites rendered
inaccessible.
The National Cybersecurity and
Communications Integration Center provides information and many resources
regarding cybersecurity at https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov.
“Citizens must hold companies and
governments accountable for the commitments they make, and demand that both
respect the web as a global community with citizens at its heart,” Berners-Lee
said March 11.
Berners-Lee hopes everyone
participating on the web will, in some way, contribute to its equality,
opportunity, and creativity.
“The web is for everyone and,
collectively, we hold the power to change it. It won’t be easy. But if we dream
a little and work a lot, we can get the web we want,” stated Berners-Lee.
Let’s hope the web of the future can
become a more civilized venue for holding open discussions and opinions without
the social media online troll attacks, fear of data theft, or website disturbances
caused by devious computer hackers.
The Web Foundation is working with
governments, companies, and citizens in building a brand-new “Contract for the
Web.” Learn more about this project at https://webfoundation.org.
Half of the world is online and using
the web – the other half is still offline without web access.
Berners-Lee’s vision 30 years ago was
to have a free and open web for everyone.
Hopefully, those around the world
without internet/web access won’t have to wait 30 more years to join the World
Wide Web.
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