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The free and open web faces real challenges. More than half the world\u2019s population still can\u2019t get online. For the other half, the web\u2019s benefits\u00a0come with too many risks<\/a>: to our privacy, our democracy, our rights. That\u2019s why we\u2019re launching a global campaign to connected everyone to a web that works for people.<\/p>\n Our founder and web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee launched the campaign today at the Web Summit in Lisbon, announcing a new \u201cContract for the Web\u201d. He shared\u00a0starter principles<\/a>\u00a0for the contract, defining responsibilities that governments, companies and citizens each have to create a better web.<\/p>\n Now we\u2019re calling for people to support these principles and get involved in a process to build them into a full Contract for the Web that will be published in May 2019 \u2014 the \u201c50\/50 moment\u201d when more than half the world\u2019s population will be online.<\/p>\n Speaking from the Web Summit, Berners-Lee said:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThe web is at a crucial point. More than half the world\u2019s population remains offline, and the rate of new people getting connected is slowing. Those of us who are online are seeing our rights and freedoms threatened. We need a new Contract for the Web, with clear and tough responsibilities for those who have the power to make it better. I hope more people will join us to build the web we want.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n The Contract for the Web launched with high-level backing from over\u00a050 organisations, including the French government, civil society organisations such as Access Now, Internet Sans Fronti\u00e8res, Project Isizwe, NewNow and the Digital Empowerment Foundation, as well as companies including Google, AnchorFree, Facebook and Cloudflare.<\/p>\n The push comes amid a growing awareness of the risks posed by digital technologies. We launched a report,\u00a0The Case for the Web<\/i><\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>as part of our campaign, outlining the urgent action needed to tackle these risks, covering issues including hate speech, data privacy, political manipulation and the centralisation of power online among a small group of companies. The report reveals that more than 1.5 billion people live in countries with no comprehensive law on personal data protection, leaving them particularly vulnerable to increasingly common incidents involving breaches of personal data.<\/p>\n Adrian Lovett, Web Foundation President & CEO said:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cFor three decades we\u2019ve seen the tremendous good that the web can deliver. As we work to expand its benefits to everyone, we need to make sure the web serves humanity, not the other way round. This can\u2019t be accomplished by any one company or country alone. It\u2019ll take all of us \u2014 debating, negotiating and collaborating to shape a better web.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n The ambition to build a Contract for the Web recognises that the challenges facing the web demand commitments from a range of actors, from the companies building web technologies to the policymakers defining laws and regulations, and the billions of people using the web every day.<\/p>\n You can join our campaign #ForTheWeb by signing up to back the Contract Principles at\u00a0<\/b>fortheweb.webfoundation.org<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n If you would like to sign on behalf of your organisation or governments, please contact us at\u00a0<\/b>contract@webfoundation.org<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n For more updates, follow us on Twitter at\u00a0@webfoundation<\/a>\u00a0and sign up to\u00a0receive our newsletter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
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