The Inventor Of World Wide Web Is Upset With Fake News And Government Surveillance

By Jeff Thompson - 13 Mar '17 08:03AM
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The inventor of World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee is upset with the transformation of the Internet in the recent years. He said that the potential dangers associated with it could destroy its benefits in future. Tim says that at present the World Wide Web is facing challenges due to fake news, government surveillance, and personal information that is distributed on the internet.

Tim was speaking on the occasion of 28th anniversary of the World Wide Web and said that if these potential threats were not addressed on time, it could potentially danger the internet over the time. He cautioned about many websites offering free content in exchange of personal information and said that many people thought it fine by blindly agreeing to the terms and conditions without looking further. It has reported many times that the information could be used by the websites for various promotional activities to personal information trade and hacking.

He also cautioned about the distribution of wrong information or fake news. He said that many people depend on a small number of sites and are victimized by "click-bait" and are being shared on the internet to become widespread. He is concerned about the political advertisements on the internet and also demanded more transparency in it considering the fact that many governments are reportedly monitoring their citizens and the internet usage. The targeted political advertising that gives an entirely different picture in an unethical way can derail the concept and purity of democracy.

"It creates alarming signals on free-speech, and it would eventually stop using the platform from space science to sensitive health issues, religion, and sexuality," Tim said. When Tim submitted the proposal for the Web in 1989, he imagined that it would provide an open platform for sharing the information, accessing the opportunities, etc., irrespective of the boundaries. But, his faith has not fulfilled until date considering the chain of recent events including WikiLeaks.

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