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Tim Berners-Lee Critiques the Web on its 35th birthday

In a post on Medium, the web's creator concludes that the first decade of its life was great but as it moves towards middle age, things are not so great. He concludes that two issues need to be addressed.

The first is the extent of power concentration, which contradicts the decentralised spirit I originally envisioned. This has segmented the web, with a fight to keep users hooked on one platform to optimise profit through the passive observation of content..

Compounding this issue is the second, the personal data market that has exploited people’s time and data with the creation of deep profiles that allow for targeted advertising and ultimately control over the information people are fed.

Lee wants an online world that is focused on profit to become one that addresses the needs of humanity. It’s a big wish!