Tim Berners-Lee: we must regulate tech firms to prevent 'weaponised' web

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

There got to be a better way! Just imaging the FWC (Federal Web Commission

Dave


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: March 11, 2018 at 9:39:03 PM EDT
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Tim Berners-Lee: we must regulate tech firms to prevent 'weaponised' web
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> Tim Berners-Lee: we must regulate tech firms to prevent 'weaponised' web
> The inventor of the world wide web warns over concentration of power among a few companies ‘controlling which ideas 
> are shared’
> By Olivia Solon
> Mar 11 2018
> <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/11/tim-berners-lee-tech-companies-regulations>
>
> Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, has called for large technology firms to be regulated to prevent 
> the web from being “weaponised at scale”.
>
> “In recent years, we’ve seen conspiracy theories trend on social media platforms, fake Twitter and Facebook accounts 
> stoke social tensions, external actors interfere in elections, and criminals steal troves of personal data,” 
> Berners-Lee wrote in an open letter marking the 29th anniversary of his invention.
>
> These problems have proliferated because of the concentration of power in the hands of a few platforms – including 
> Facebook, Google, and Twitter – which “control which ideas and opinions are seen and shared”.
>
> “What was once a rich selection of blogs and websites has been compressed under the powerful weight of a few dominant 
> platforms,” said the 62-year-old British computer scientist. 
>
> These online gatekeepers can lock in their power by acquiring smaller rivals, buying up new innovations and hiring 
> the industry’s top talent, making it harder for others to compete, he said. 
>
> Google now accounts for about 87% of online searches worldwide. Facebook has more than 2.2 billion monthly active 
> users – more than 20 times more than MySpace at its peak. Together, the two companies (including their subsidiaries 
> Instagram and YouTube) slurp up more than 60% of digital advertising spend worldwide.
>
> Although the companies are aware of the problems and have made efforts to fix them – developing systems to tackle 
> fake news, bots and influence operations – they have been built to “maximise profit more than maximise social good”.
>
> “A legal or regulatory framework that accounts for social objectives may help ease those tensions,” he said. 
>
> Aligning the incentives of the technology sector with those of users and society at large, he argued, will require 
> consulting a diverse group of people from business, government, civil society, academia and the arts. 
>
> Berners-Lee warned of “two myths” that “limit our collective imagination” when looking for solutions to the problems 
> facing the web: “The myth that advertising is the only possible business model for online companies, and the myth 
> that it’s too late to change the way platforms operate. On both points we need to be a little more creative,” he said.
>
> “I want the web to reflect our hopes and fulfil our dreams, rather than magnify our fears and deepen our divisions,” 
> he said.
>
> The open letter coincides with a significant milestone: 2018 is the first year that more than half of the world’s 
> population will be online. 
>
> This still leaves a gaping “digital divide” that exacerbates existing inequalities: you are more likely to be offline 
> if you are female, poor, or live in a rural area or a low-income country. 
>
> “To be offline today is to be excluded from opportunities to learn and earn, to access valuable services, and to 
> participate in democratic debate,” Berners-Lee said. “If we do not invest seriously in closing this gap, the last 
> billion will not be connected until 2042. That’s an entire generation left behind.”
>
> Two years ago, the UN declared internet access to be a basic human right on par with clean water, shelter, food and 
> electricity. However, in many places, getting online is prohibitively expensive – the cost of 1GB of mobile broadband 
> in Malawi is more than 20% of the average monthly income. In Zimbabwe, it is nearly 45%.
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp



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