Dubai: Twenty-five years after he invented the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee has stressed the need for the internet to remain open for all and free from any royalty or restrictions.
In Dubai this week to receive the first $1 million Knowledge Award from Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Foundation, at the Knowledge Conference, the British computer scientist said it is imperative that access to the basic infrastructure that powers the internet remains unrestricted.
Strongly defending the concept of net neutrality, which accords everyone equal access to online content, Berners-Lee expressed concern over the manner in which service providers worldwide exercise power over people who use the internet.
His concern comes at a time when cable providers and mobile phone services in many parts of the world are pushing for paid access to their networks even as content providers, including Google, have rallied for open access. “Allowing privacy of individuals, keeping the net neutral and getting it across to the entire planet are the biggest challenges before us today,” he said.
Berners-Lee also said that people must have greater control of how companies and governments use their data on the net. “I would like to see changes in the way people interact with the web so they have greater control over their data.”
Wikipedia Co-founder Jimmy Wales, who shared the $1 million award with Berners-Lee, said Wikipedia is in talks with mobile carriers to offer Wikipedia without data charges. “The cost of data prevents millions of people from accessing Wikipedia and we would like that to change,” he noted.
Although the web is a global information space with over a billion users, its reach is still limited to 40 per cent of the global population. “Those of us who are connected have a huge responsibility to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots and keep the internet open,” said Berners-Lee, adding that free internet access should be counted as a human right.
