World Wide Web Foundation To Close, As Berners-Lee Shifts Focus To Solid Protocol
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
In a surprising announcement, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the web, and Rosemary Leith, co-founder of the World Wide Web Foundation, revealed that the organization is ceasing operations. The decision comes after 16 years of advocating for a safe, trusted, open web.
However, Berners-Lee is not giving up on the Foundation's goals; instead, he's just redirected his efforts to the Solid Protocol. That said, some of the Foundation's original objectives have been achieved. These include:
- Expanding internet access: When the Foundation started in 2009, only 20% of the world had internet access. Now, nearly 70% of the global population is online.
- Advocating for affordable internet: The foundation set a benchmark called "1 for 2", which stated that 1GB of mobile data shouldn't cost over 2% of a person's average monthly income. Not only was this successful, but now the Alliance for Affordable Internet is advocating for "1 for 5", where the goal is for the cost of 5GB of broadband, both mobile and fixed, to be no more than 2% of someone's average monthly income by 2026.
- Promoting net neutrality: The foundation helped win victories for net neutrality in the EU, India, and the US.
Berners-Lee and Leith cited the dramatically changed landscape of internet access as a key factor in their decision. The Foundation's original mission has evolved with most of the world now online, at affordable prices, and numerous organizations now defending web users' rights.
From where they sit, the top threat to users' rights is dominant, centralized social media platforms, such as Facebook, X, and Reddit. This dominance has led to the commoditization of user data and a concentration of power that's contrary to Berners-Lee's original vision of the web.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.