The Web’s 3 biggest challenges
12 March marked the 28th birthday of the World Wide Web.
As part of the anniversary, its inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee posted a message about the three main challenges facing the web today.
“Over the past 12 months, I’ve become increasingly worried about three new trends, which I believe we must tackle in order for the web to fulfil its potential as a tool which serves all of humanity,” said Berners-Lee.
The challenges are:
- We’ve lost control of our personal data – The current business model for many websites offers free content in exchange for personal data.
- It’s too easy for misinformation to spread on the web – Misinformation which is surprising, shocking, or designed to appeal to our biases can spread like wildfire.
- Political advertising online needs transparency and understanding – There are suggestions that some political adverts are being used in unethical ways – to point voters to fake news sites, for instance, or to keep others away from the polls.
“These are complex problems, and the solutions will not be simple. We must work together with web companies to strike a balance that puts a fair level of data control back in the hands of people, including the development of new technology like personal data pods if needed and exploring alternative revenue models like subscriptions and micropayments,” said Berners-Lee.
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