Despite more and more people around the world having access to the internet, Berners-Lee warned that the growing tide of government-on-government surveillance and censorship is posing a threat to online freedom and the future of democracy. He made his remarks at an event to launch a global index that ranks countries according to their internet freedom in London Friday.
“One of the most encouraging findings of this year’s Web Index is how the web and social media are increasingly spurring people to organize, take action and try to expose wrongdoing in every region of the world. But some governments are threatened by this, and a growing tide of surveillance and censorship now threatens the future of democracy. Bold steps are now needed to protect our fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of opinion,” said computer scientist Berners-Lee, 58.
Berners-Lee, known popularly as TimBL and Mr Internet, is also director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which oversees the web’s continued development.
He also described attempts by spy agencies to crack encryption as “appalling and foolish.” He has said previously that the checks and balances that the UK and US governments are meant to have over GCHQ and the NSA have failed.
The league table is compiled of 81 countries, expended from 61 countries surveyed last year. It looks at various measures, including the extent of internet access, how “empowered” people are by its availability and how much censorship is employed by governments.