The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has warned that the web’s potential to drive social and economic progress is being constrained by the exclusion from the online world of billions of young people.
In a letter published jointly with Web Foundation co-founder, Rosemary Leith, on the web’s 32nd birthday, Berners-Lee urged the leaders of young people globally to drive positive change.
The web’s inventor called for a global push to connect all the world’s young people.
Berners-Lee challenged governments and the private sector to invest $428 billion over the next 10 years — an estimate of the additional funding required to connect everyone to a quality, affordable broadband connection, set by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI).
Berners-Lee also called for tech companies and governments to develop responsible products and policies that reduce the risk of creating or exacerbating harms online and make young peoples’ rights and wellbeing a top priority.
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Leith said, “Similar to education, access to a safe and empowering web should be a basic right for young people. If half a generation of young people are unable to use the tools to thrive in a digital world — to learn new skills, run businesses, build communities, participate in democratic debate — society as a whole will miss out on their talents, ideas and efforts.
“An investment in the online lives of all young people now will deliver enormous returns for years to come, not only for the people we connect, but for everyone who lives in the world they build. Today’s technology leaders and policymakers must seize this opportunity as we build back from this crisis.”
The web inventor identified nine web champions using digital technology to tackle gender inequality, curb Covid-19, protect the environment and address other looming global challenges.
The letter stated, “These young leaders see the web as a tool to fight for justice, expand opportunities, and find solutions to pressing problems. In the hands of this generation, the web can help to overcome some of humanity’s great challenges.”
Berners-Lee also underlined the threat of online abuse, misinformation and dangerous content that puts young people at risk and can push them offline.
According to him, 85 percent of women and girls have experienced or witnessed online violence, with younger women disproportionately affected. “We’re seeing just a fraction of what’s possible”, the letter warns.
“How many brilliant young minds fall on the wrong side of the digital divide? How many voices of would-be leaders are being silenced by a toxic internet?”
