Tim Berners-Lee, the scientist largely credited with creating the World Wide Web, issued a stark warning on Friday about the trend of surveillance that’s been springing in the Internet.
He said that the more the web is being used to “expose wrongdoing” of government entities, the more the government entities are responding with crackdowns on Internet freedoms, according to The Associated Press. They’re feeling threatened, he said, and as a result, they’re turning to regulation to control what’s being put online.
A “growing tide of surveillance and censorship” is leading to a fate that hampers democracies and freedoms around the world, and “bold steps” are needed to again put the people in charge of content, he suggested.
Mr. Berners-Lee, who developed the Web in 1990, made the remarks just as a report was making waves in London about which countries ranked best in terms of Internet freedom. Sweden was ranked as the best, followed by Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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