In November last year, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web launched the Magna Carta for the Web to guide various sectors of society in creating a web that is free from abuse [read Tim Berners-Lee launches Magna Carta for the Web for more info about this]. Seven months after this global campaign launched, and 30 years after the Proposal for the Web was published, the Internet founder says that it is time to celebrate what the Web has accomplished, as well as reflect on the direction we want to bring it to for the future.

In his letter entitled 30 Years On, What’s Next #ForTheWeb published by the World Wide Web Foundation, Berners-Lee talks about the three sources of dysfunction affecting the internet today, and what we can do to address them. He says that many people today are not wary whether the internet can truly be a force for goodness, and if the current trends remain unaddressed, it is possible that the internet will bring about more harm, instead of good.

Why It Matters

Unlike other solutions proposed in addressing the many abuses happening online, Berners-Lee recognized the need to utilize a three-fold approach. He says that the three sectors of society – governemnt, business, and citizens, must not only work together. Instead, they must perform their unique roles in order to resolve the many problems plaguing the internet today.

Berners’ Lee ends his letter with these powerful words:

The fight for the web is one of the web is one of the most important causes of our time…It is more urgent than ever to ensure…that everyone contributes to a web that drives equality, opportunity and creativity.

In short, he is saying, it is up to everyone to collectively change the direction of the internet so that it serves its ultimate purpose – to be a bastion of what is truly and fully human.

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