Tim Berners-Lee warns of threats to open web

[alphaomega]

Interesting article from emails I receive. I thought we should take a note of.




Web creator says Facebook and Apple are threatening the openness of the web


Twenty years after creating the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has warned it's under threat, as companies and governments alike undermine its openness.
In an essay for Scientific American, he called out Facebook and Apple as being threats to the web for not supporting open standards and open data.
"Some of its most successful inhabitants have begun to chip away at its principles," he wrote. "Large social-networking sites are walling off information posted by their users from the rest of the web.
"Wireless internet providers are being tempted to slow traffic to sites with which they have not made deals," he added. "Governments — totalitarian and democratic alike — are monitoring people’s online habits, endangering important human rights."
Berners-Lee highlighted Facebook, LinkedIn and Friendster, noting how such sites lock data in. "Your social-networking site becomes a central platform - a closed silo of content, and one that does not give you full control over your information in it."
Berners-Lee also took aim at Apple, noting how iTunes pairs the open standards URL system with a proprietary address, which is why links start with "itunes" and not "http".
"The iTunes world is centralised and walled off," he said. "You are trapped in a single store, rather than being on the open marketplace. For all the store’s wonderful features, its evolution is limited to what one company thinks up."
"If we, the web’s users, allow these and other trends to proceed unchecked, the web could be broken into fragmented islands," he said, suggesting users try out open networks such as GnuSocial and Diaspora. "We could lose the freedom to connect with whichever websites we want. The ill effects could extend to smartphones and pads, which are also portals to the extensive information that the web provides."
Web rights
Berners-Lee again argued in favour of net neutrality, drawing a line between traffic management, which he admits is necessary, and "commercial discrimination."
He added that net neutrality should cover all web access, whether it's over fixed lines or mobile phones - contrary to current US plans. "It is... bizarre to imagine that my fundamental right to access the information source of my choice should apply when I am on my Wi-Fi-connected computer at home but not when I use my cell phone," he said.
Berners-Lee also called for people to stand up to their governments when web rights are trampled. "Totalitarian governments aren't the only ones violating the network rights of their citizens," he said. "When your network rights are violated, public outcry is crucial."

[kgun]

Twenty years after creating the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has warned it's under threat, as companies and governments alike undermine its openness.

Not only companies and governments. I have noted that Norwegian universities have deleted important information

1. One about creating extra nets. The best source I knew of.
2. The history of object oriented programming. Now you have to go to Wikipedia and not the source or this http://www.ifi.uio.no/adminfo/tribute.html new site.

from the web. I don't know how it is in other countries.

It is worse if it, for various reasons is not put on the web at all. It is not surprising when you look at the top positions on the SERP's of search engines for the term:

How "Object oriented programming started"

The removed page form uio, I think of was never on the first page of any search engine.

Some days ago I saw a top hit on the Google SERPs where a while loop was used for the "Hello World" version of Simula.

[alphaomega]

The Australian government does its best to gain legal control over the net here. They like to tell us what we can get and what not. All in the cloak of pornography. But the real reason is power over content. They like to "filter" the badies out they say. Well I lived 24 years in communist system and can smell rat when I smell one.

[kgun]

Well I lived 24 years in communist system and can smell rat when I smell one.

People from Sweden like to call us the last Soviet state and we are the only nation in the world that I know of that still celebrates The Red Army on the 8th of may.

Actual Book: When China dominates the World. (Go to Cnn GPS and see the program about that book).

Related Google (book) search: When china dominates the world

Look at the countries that will boycott this years Nobel Peace Prize seremony and Google:

boycotted the Nobel (peace) Prize seremony (Hitler did and he issued a statement that no German citizen was allowed to receive any Nobel prize).

or variations thereof. I have not heard that Russia will not be present.

Norway is ruled by a big social democratic party (and a smaller to the right and one to the left) like Australia.

There is no populist tea party (some democrats on Cnn call them vulgar) in Norway than cook warm tea that has to be cooled by the Senate yet, but England is coming closer.

[alphaomega]

Never been to Norway. Traveled Sweden, Finland and Denmark, but not Norway. Interesting thought kgun. I came originally from Czechoslovakia. I have seen communist regime, lived in West Germany for 8 years and seen the capitalist system, now I live in Australia and still have to find system that supports human kind. Its all about power and greed.

[kgun]

I think the correct title of the book is:

When China rules the world

People from Sweden like to call us the last Soviet state...

But they gave us the great honor (and burden) of giving out the Nobel (was from Sweden) Peace Prize.

Its all about power and greed.

I see no better alternative than a regulated capitalistic system. American turbo capitalists and Chinese communists would certainly disagree.

[kgun]

Off topic:

There can be one advantage with China since they may be more neutral to religion than some other countries. They may succeed in developing Afghanistan. Google

china coper mines Afghanistan

[dorothykinder]

Yes, i think power and greed are the ones which are ruling the world now a days @ alphaomega and kgun.. i do agree with both of your opinions sir, i think if the government does something good then the citizens also tries to do something good.. if they do anything wrong.. citizens do say.. if they are doing it wrong why not we then??

Also, the web is not being utilized in a proper manner as what i have been seeing what its supposed to be.. many of us need to know "why" and "what" sort of things on Google, but its all more commercial..

[BackLinksVault]

Tim is a brilliant man but I think he misses the mark here. Malls in your area attempt to monopolize consumers, but people still shop elsewhere. Sometimes not everything you want is in one facet of the internet, whether it's an app, or walled garden. The openness of the web will win out over these closed networks because people have varied interests and demands. A good example is Walmart. They are insanely huge yet they don't make up more than 50% of consumer spend. The same is true for the internet. Properties will be monopolistic and attempt to gain 100% of the pageviews but this is simply not realistic and things tend to spread out over time.

Google had a much more dominant position just five years ago. Now they have to share "their" users eyeballs with Yahoo/Bing, Facebook, and Twitter. The web is a zero sum game of finite users with everyone attempting to horde the pageviews but again, it's just not going to happen - at least without manipulation at the highest levels.

[kgun]

It is thought provoking that the revolution in Egypt is also named a Facebook or a digital revolution. The man who was the driving force on Facebook is a Google employee.