the west wide web; 20 years of internet

In 1989 a rather obscure British scientist named Tim Berners-Lee (now Sir Tim) wrote a proposal at Cern, Switzerland for what would eventually become the World Wide Web.

It was August 6 1991, (rather poetically considering how technology was blamed for the spreading of riots preceding the gunning down of Mark Duggan in the same week, a mere 20 years later) that the first webpage was launched, and the rest, as they say, is the future.

Sir Tim, now director of the World Wide Web Consortium, has often said the net is not done. There has been such exponential growth in the west that we could be tempted to rest on the laurels of our laptops, but as there are enormous pockets of this globe as yet untouched by BTFON spots et al (lucky them), it is not news to comment that the net is far from a global phenomenon.

Currently the world’s population is estimated at 6.94 billion. It is thought there are approx. 140 million annual births, and 57 million deaths (expected to increase to 80 million by 2040). By 2050, it is believed there will be 7.5 – 10.5 billion human being on planet Earth.

At this moment in time it is believed that there are only 2 billion with access to the inter net, leaving a staggering two thirds of our race out of the catchment of the web. Is the inter-net really connecting us all together, or creating greater global divides?

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
(a man who knows a fair bit about social divides, being a member of the Saudi Royal family) commented “Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as backward.”

Of those granted access to this exclusive information “sharing” network, 44% are in Asia – 26% of which are tucked up safely behind the Great Firewall of China. (There are approx 3 billion Asians who do not have access to the web)

According to Wikipedia: “Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations the censorship follows. In accordance with these laws, more than sixty Internet regulations have been made by the People's Republic of China (PRC) government, and censorship systems are vigorously implemented by provincial branches of state-owned ISPs, business companies, and organizations.”

The Chinese government are simply terrified of the potential of mobilization and organizational tools such as instant messenger, chat rooms and text messaging. There are 30,000 inter net police able to repress any critical comment within seconds of it appearing, using the most advanced systems in the world to implement the silence.

The governmental authorities not only block website content but also monitor the Internet access of individuals. Amnesty International notes that China “has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world.” The offences of which they are accused include communicating with group’s abroad, opposing the persecution of the Falun Gong, signing online petitions, and calling for reform and an end to corruption.

So let’s get this right, this is a West Wide Web.

Almost all Americans and Australians are able to surf at will on the information super highways, as well are over half of all Europeans. Will this ever change?

Will there ever be an opportunity (in my lifetime) for me to have an on-line chatter with someone in Afghanistan, while we are both in the comfort of our own homes?

Is that what those who govern would want? We saw recently in the London and UK riots how quickly our new technological advancements can be made to turn against the systems that they also support. But there were riots in London before the invention of mobile phones.

As Esther Dyson put it “The Internet is like alcohol in some sense.  It accentuates what you would do anyway.  If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone.  If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.”

Technology cannot be blamed for dissidents; the only thing that causes rebellion is repression. The inter net is barely out of its teens, and like any rebellious youth, is flexing its potential strength to expand – but as yet has not broken free of the apron strings of parental (or big brotherly) control.

We in the west are lucky to be part of this experiment, but it is also our duty to be responsible and actually share important information with each other. We in the west may have a right to be proud of our advancements, but lets not get so far ahead of ourselves that we leave the majority behind.