A few months ago, on the 11th of March 2019, it was exactly 30 years ago that Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web.
While working as a consultant at the CERN research institute in Geneva, he wrote the source code for what would later become the World Wide Web. There were other information systems at the time, but Berners-Lee was the first one to offer it free: Everyone with an internet connection could access and even build on the Web. It became a huge success: Currently, more than half of the world population is online (Vanity Fair, 2018).
However, this free nature of the Web also seems to be one of the main reasons why the Web is facing some serious problems. In a letter published by Berners-Lee at the 30-year anniversary of the Web, he raises his concerns about the current state of the Web (The Verge, 2019). Although he stresses that the Web has many positive impacts, recent developments also showed how it can be used for the worse. According to the Web’s founder, there are three main issues (World Wide Web Foundation, 2019):
- “Deliberate, malicious intent”: think of the Russian interference with the US elections and other state-sponsored hacking and attacks. Criminal behavior and online harassment are other examples of this issue.
- “System design that creates perverse incentives”: think of platforms that are designed to catch their users’ attention above all costs, very often sacrificing the user value.
- “Unintended negative consequences of benevolent design, such as the outraged and polarized tone and quality of online discourse.”
The good news? Berners-Lee does not think the war is lost. The Web is still in a position to be saved. However, several actions should be taken (World Wide Web Foundation, 2019).
First of all, governments should make sure there are enough regulations and laws that protect people’s rights and freedom. Furthermore, legislators should ensure that markets remain open and competitive.
Second, companies should not only focus on short-term profits, but also on having a good impact on society. Platforms should be created with the right values in mind.
And last and most important, citizens should put pressure on governments and companies to check if they follow up on this. Also, we should stop with giving our data away so easily.
In other words: a lot of work to be done! The Web is a great example of how information systems can have powerful consequences that are hard to manage. What do you think of the current state of the Web? What can we do to improve it?
SOURCES
“30 years on, what’s next #ForTheWeb?” – World Wide Web Foundation
https://webfoundation.org/2019/03/web-birthday-30/
“The Man Who Created the World Wide Web Has Some Regrets” – Vanity Fair
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/the-man-who-created-the-world-wide-web-has-some-regrets
“Tim Berners-Lee says we can still save the web” – The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/11/18260449/world-wide-web-www-anniversary-tim-berners-lee-internet