The inventor of the world wide web has warned that his creation stands at a crossroads on its 25th anniversary, and users must choose between freedom and the threat of surveillance.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee told the Guardian a Magna Carta-esque bill of rights is required to give the internet independence and protection from governments and corporations seeking to use it to spy on people.
He told the BBC: "It’s time for us to make a big communal decision. In front of us are two roads – which way are we going to go?"
Additionally, the Guardian quoted him saying: "Unless we have an open, neutral Internet we can rely on without worrying about what’s happening at the back door, we can’t have open government, good democracy, good healthcare, connected communities and diversity of culture."
Sir Tim has repeatedly criticised spy agencies GCHQ and the NSA for snooping on people online following ex-contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations, and the web inventor’s proposal to adopt a ‘Magna Carta’ to enshrine the rights of internet users has been adopted as part of a campaign called Web We Want.
The campaigners are calling on countries to agree to an internet users bill of rights, and want users to help draft then propose the bills to their countries.
Its website added: "As more and more people awaken to the threats against our basic rights online, we must start a debate — everywhere — about the web we want."
Sir Tim’s proposed web constitution would explore the impact of copyright laws and the ethics of technology.
