Sir Tim on the titans

Who, from our times, will be remembered in 600 years as Gutenberg is, or in 200 years like Stephenson or Faraday – all of whose inventions irrevocably changed the way people live? The most likely candidate is Sir Tim Bernerslee, the inventor of the World Wide Web which has transformed communications more rapidly than any previous innovation in history.

Sir Tim could one day be venerated for one of humanity’s greatest moments, or vilified for unleashing a monster. Even he must wonder which. Children in particular are today exposed to images and material at the touch of a computer mouse which would once have been denied them. And Sir Tim has warned against the power that the internet gives states to eavesdrop on citizens.

Thirty years after proposing an information management network that became the World Wide Web, he will today call on governments to take action against malicious and abusive online behaviour. In a speech to mark the anniversary, Sir Tim is expected to say that tech giants should not be allowed to “pursue short-term profits at the expense of public safety”. His words seem to be aimed at Facebook, Google and others accused of not taking seriously enough the growing concerns about the impact of their output on young people.

Sir Tim will argue that the internet has made all our lives easier and markets must remain innovative and open. But its operators have a responsibility to protect rights and freedoms and he will urge governments to “translate laws for the digital age”. A good start would be for ministers to impose a legal duty of care on tech companies to protect children, as this newspaper has proposed.