Father Of The World Wide Web Calls for Constitution to Address 'Insidious and Chilling Spying'

[G_j]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/berners-lee-calls-internet-constitution-address-insidious-chilling-spying-1439902

The man known as the father of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken on the 25th anniversary of the day the idea of his era-defining technology was first mooted, to call for a global constitution for the web.

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25 years on and that technology has radically changed the way the world communicates, but now it is time for governments around the world to protect their citizens by drawing up a charter for the internet, according to Berners-Lee.

"We need a global constitution – a bill of rights" Berners-Lee told the Guardian.

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Since Edward Snowden began leaking top-secret documents about how the US and UK government agencies monitor and collect personal data from people all over the world, internet users have been reassessing how they use the web.

NSA's Insidious and chilling spying

Berners-Lee has been an outspoken critic of the actions of the NSA and GCHQ. While he remains of the belief that the internet is a "tremendously positive force" he openly admits to the "seriousness" of the situation relating to the revelations made by Snowden.

Calling the government monitoring of citizens "insidious" and "chilling", Berners-Lee said last November at the launch of the annual Web Index report:

"When you are being spied on by an oppressive government where they don't believe that you have the right to be able to go [online] and discuss with impunity [sensitive topics]; when you are being spied on; when maybe you have known people who have been taken off to jail in the middle of the night; that is pretty chilling.

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http://news.yahoo.com/tim-berners-lees-message-webs-25th-anniversary-111316706.html;_ylt=AwrBEiFTaSBTvy8AUBXQtDMD

A website commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Web has gone live Wednesday, March 12, with support from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the World Wide Web Foundation. The site honors the day in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee proposed the system of hypertext links that would become the internet as we know it today. On the occasion, the computer scientist has launched a call to action to ensure the Web remains open and accessible to all.

Tim Berners-Lee, the W3C and the World Wide Web Foundation solemnly urge internet users everywhere to do their part to protect and develop an open and free internet in 2014. In a video at webat25.org, Berners-Lee expresses his hope that "the anniversary will spark a global conversation about our need to defend principles that have made the Web successful, and to unlock the Web's untapped potential."

"I believe we can build a Web that truly is for everyone," he states, "one that is accessible to all, from any device, and one that empowers all of us to achieve our dignity, rights and potential as humans."

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