It seems like a Millennium ago, but there was time when all you had to worry about when using the Internet, was remembering your passwords and not to give your banking information to the Nigerian Prince who was asking for your help. But over the past few years, things have changed and not for the better.
In 1997, when I first drafted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Cyberspace, there were efforts afoot in the US Congress to control who could create and what kinds of content could be created on the Web. And the biggest corporate misbehavior was overcharging for access to the Net. Today, you’ve got be on the lookout for phishing expeditions, access limitations, real privacy invasions, malware, ransomware, and the list goes on.
Not long after my effort, my friend and inspiration John Perry Barlow, drafted this Declaration of Cyberspace Independence. There have been other efforts over the years to point the evolution of our Internet back to the idealistic and humanitarian path that its founders envisioned.
In 2018, Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the Worldwide Web) launched a working group to establish what he is calling a “Contract for the Web,” something of a Magna Carta document in which “governments must ensure that its citizens have access to all of the internet, all of the time, and that their privacy is respected so they can be online “freely, safely and without fear.”
“Humanity connected by technology on the web is functioning in a dystopian way. We have online abuse, prejudice, bias, polarisation, fake news, there are lots of ways in which it is broken. This is a contract to make the web one which serves humanity, science, knowledge and democracy,” Berners-Lee said.
Here is where you come in: The contract acknowledges that internet users have their individual parts to play and calls for people to make web content that is “rich and relevant”; to build communities that respect civil discourse and human dignity; and to fight for an open web that is “a global public resource for people everywhere”.
Published Guiding Principles:
Governments will
- Ensure everyone can connect to the internet
So that anyone, no matter who they are or where they live, can participate actively online.
- Keep all of the internet available, all of the time
So that no one is denied their right to full internet access.
- Respect people’s fundamental right to privacy
So everyone can use the internet freely, safely and without fear.
Companies will
- Make the internet affordable and accessible to everyone
So that no one is excluded from using and shaping the web.
- Respect consumers’ privacy and personal data
So people are in control of their lives online.
- Develop technologies that support the best in humanity and challenge the worst
So the web really is a public good that puts people first.
Citizens will
- Be creators and collaborators on the web
So the web has rich and relevant content for everyone.
- Build strong communities that respect civil discourse and human dignity
So that everyone feels safe and welcome online.
- Fight for the web
So the web remains open and a global public resource for people everywhere, now and in the future.
The working groups are asking for public input now until September. Please take a few minutes to check out the draft document and fill out the survey so that your voice is part of this movement.
I find “The Contract” similar in some ways to that Declaration I drafted in 1997. Yes, it’s idealistic, but that seems a perfect place to start if you are wanting to make things better. I’ve seen grassroots movements become powerful enough to make real change happen, and hopefully we will see it together with this movement.