"When Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1989, he had imagined something open, universal, and free. A shared space open to anyone, without permission or paywalls. Today, more than 5.5 billion people rely on the web, but its creator fears it has drifted far from its original promise. Speaking to The Guardian, Berners-Lee said he believes the internet is now locked in a "battle for the soul of the web"."
"Back then, he says, his excitement was "uncontainable." Now, nearly four decades later, that excitement has been replaced by anxiety and urgency. "We can fix the internet ... it's not too late," he writes, framing his latest efforts as a rebellion led by developers, activists, and technologists who believe the web can once again serve the public good, but only if its underlying incentives are changed."
"According to Berners-Lee, the first major issue occurred in the 1990s with the commercialization of the Domain Name System. What he argues should have been run as a nonprofit public utility was instead overtaken by profit-seeking actors during the dot-com boom, turning it into fertile ground for speculators and opportunists. "The Americans were very keen about commercialising the internet," he told Guardian Australia, describing the shift from an academic tool to a commercial battleground."
The World Wide Web was created in 1989 as an open, universal, and free shared space accessible without permission or paywalls. More than 5.5 billion people now rely on the web, but commercialization and profit-driven design have altered its incentives. The 1990s commercialization of the Domain Name System shifted governance from a potential nonprofit public utility to market actors and speculators. Profit motives reshaped online design and contributed to disinformation and manipulation visible in political events. Current efforts focus on changing incentives, mobilizing developers, activists, and technologists to restore the web as a public-good platform serving broad societal interests.
Read at TechRepublic
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