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3 Dark Trends That Could Destroy the Web

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3 Dark Trends That Could Destroy the Web

World Economic Forum,

5 min read
5 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

If something doesn’t change quickly, the Internet will serve corporate greed and will corrupt politics to exploit and control citizens.

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

When the inventor of the World Wide Web says he finds three Internet trends concerning, you should refresh your page and take notice. In his call to action, Tim Berners-Lee briefly explains which trends are curbing the web’s potential and what society should do about it. getAbstract recommends this compact reminder of what’s going wrong online to those who share Berners-Lee’s vision of a democratic web that provides information and opportunities for all.

Summary

The World Wide Web was supposed to be an “open platform” that would democratize access to information and opportunities. In some ways, that’s what it is, but since 2016 some trends have emerged that society must address so that the web can “fulfill its true potential as a tool which serves all of humanity”:  

  1. “We’ve lost control of our personal data” – Using an online service often requires sharing your data. Companies will process your data for their own benefit without transparency about how they use it. The terms and conditions users must accept are filled...

About the Author

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989. He founded and directs the World Wide Consortium (W3C), founded the Web Foundation and co-founded the Open Data Institute in London.


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    K. G. getAbstract 7 years ago
    @Kutila Pinto: Yeah, right.
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    K. P. 7 years ago
    Mr Berners-Lee, the entire humanity is in debt for your innovation and been humble enough and kind enough not to make www blocked for commercial benefit. Others have profited out of your vision and now as you have rightfully sighted, grossly misusing to gain unfair advantage. Your call to governments and businesses to correct is almost like "asking the thief to say where the stolen goods are"! It will never happen. There is no democracy anymore. The entire world is a one big communist platform cloaked in democracy. I personally suggest, only you can find an answer to fix it. Sir, you created www. If you see the current trend as a problem and a potential issue that threaten the true meaning of democracy, then find a way to "red flag" these demonic perpetrators so the unassuming users can 'at least' know what they see and read is BS when they see it. They say "sometimes you have to break something to fix it right". Thanks again for your gift to the world!

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