# Worldwide web inventor wants to make internet safe, accessible for everyone | Tech News (HT Tech) > Tim Berners-Lee called on governments, companies and citizens to iron out a “complete contract” for the web that will make the internet “safe and accessible” for all by May 2019. # Worldwide web inventor wants to make internet safe, accessible for everyone ## Tim Berners-Lee called on governments, companies and citizens to iron out a “complete contract” for the web that will make the internet “safe and accessible” for all by May 2019. Aug 20 2022, 11:40 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![English scientist Tim Berners-Lee from the Web Foundation addresses the opening ceremony of the 2018 edition of the annual Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon on November 5, 2018.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/rf/image_size_960x540/HT/p2/2018/11/06/Pictures/portugal-technology-web-summit_0b0e1052-e17c-11e8-bdc4-2ad11fc65eb2.jpg) English scientist Tim Berners-Lee from the Web Foundation addresses the opening ceremony of the 2018 edition of the annual Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon on November 5, 2018. (AFP) ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The inventor of the worldwide web on Monday called for a "contract" to make internet safe and accessible for everyone as Europe's largest tech event began in Lisbon amid a backlash over its role in spreading "fake news". Some 70,000 people are expected to take part in the four-day Web Summit, dubbed "the Davos for geeks", including speakers from leading global tech companies, politicians and start-ups hoping to attract attention from the over 1,500 investors who are scheduled to attend. Tech firms now find themselves on the defensive, with critics accusing them of not doing enough to curb the spread of "fake news" which has helped polarise election campaigns around the world and of maximising profits by harvesting data on consumers' browsing habits. Also read click here. British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who in 1989 invented the worldwide web as a way to exchange information, said the internet had deviated from the goals its founders had envisaged. "All kinds of things have things have gone wrong. We have fake news, we have problems with privacy, we have people being profiled and manipulated," he said in an opening address. Berners-Lee, 63, called on governments, companies and citizens to iron out a "complete contract" for the web that will make the internet "safe and accessible" for all by May 2019, the date by which 50% of the world will be online for the first time. 'Going through a funk' He has just launched Inrupt, a start-up which is building an open source platform called "Solid" which will decentralise the web and allow users to choose where their data is kept, along with who can see and access it. Solid intends to allow users to bypass tech giants such as Google and Facebook. The two tech giants now have direct influence over nearly three quarters of all internet traffic thanks to the vast amounts of apps and services they own such as YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram. Employees of Google, Facebook and other tech giants have in recent months gone public with their regrets, calling the products they helped build harmful to society and overly addictive. Tech giants are also under fire for having built up virtual monopolies in their areas. Amazon accounts for 93% of all e-book sales while Google swallows up 92% of all European internet-search ad spending. "I think technology is going through a funk... it's a period of reflection," Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave told AFP. "With every new technology you go through these cycles. The initial excitement of the printed press was replaced in time by a great fear that it was actually a bad thing. Over time it has actually worked out OK." ALSO READ: Tech giants may have to be split up: Tim Berners-Lee Violent voices magnified Among those scheduled to speak at the event is Christopher Wylie, a whistleblower who earlier this year said users' data from Facebook was used by British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to help elect US President Donald Trump -- a claim denied by the company. Another tech veteran who has become critical of the sector, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, will on Thursday deliver the closing address. He left Twitter in 2011 and went on to co-found online publishing platform Mash, which is subscription based and unlike Twitter favours in-depth writing about issues. The problem with the current internet model is that negative content gets more attention online, and thus gain more advertisers, according to Mitchell Baker, the president of the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organisation which promotes Internet innovation. "Today everyone has a voice but the problem is... the loudest and often most violent voices get magnified because the most negative, scariest things attract our attention," she told AFP in a recent interview. The Web Summit was launched in Dublin in 2010 and moved to Lisbon six years later. The Portuguese government estimates the event will generate 300 million euros ($347 million) for Lisbon in hotel and other revenues. Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 06 Nov, 09:59 IST facebook google internet ![HT Tech Awards](https://tech.hindustantimes.com/ht-tech-power-list-awards-2026/httech-awards-banner-new.webp) 71,589,384,988,256 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/03/28/414x233/ChatGPT_Ghibli_style_images_1743161814450_1743161814596.jpg) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/14/414x233/invites_1738728829564_1739543695649.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/13/414x233/unnamed_1739426557335_1739426567634.jpg) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/worldwide-web-inventor-wants-to-make-internet-safe-accessible-for-everyone-story-CsqejtdVdrEzAzgpWhY0OI.html