World Wide Web Foundation Explained

World Wide Web Foundation
Type:501(c)(3), charitable organization
Founding Location:Washington, D.C.
Headquarters:Washington, D.C.
Location:Washington, D.C., United States
London, England, United Kingdom
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tax Id:26-2852431[1]

The World Wide Web Foundation, also known as the Web Foundation, is a US-based international nonprofit organization advocating for a free and open web for everyone. It was cofounded by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, and Rosemary Leith.[2] Announced in September 2008[3] in Washington, D.C., the Web Foundation launched operations in November 2009 at the Internet Governance Forum.[4]

The Web Foundation aims to expand global internet access and ensure the web is a safe, empowering platform for everyone to use freely and beneficially.[5] One of its former board members was Gordon Brown, former prime minister of the United Kingdom.[6]

Mission

The Web Foundation's mission is to advance the open web as a public good and a basic right. It seeks to achieve digital equality; a world where everyone has the same rights and opportunities online.[5]

In an open letter published in March 2018, Web Foundation founder Berners-Lee called for action to connect the 50% of the world still not online and to ensure they find a web worth connecting to.[7]

In 2019, Web Foundation launched the initiative Contract for the Web to attempt to address issues of political manipulation, fake news, privacy violations, and other malign forces on the internet.

Organization

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Web Foundation works across 70 countries, including work through partner organizations. Its team of around 30 employees works from three main hubs in Jakarta, London and Washington, D.C.[8]

It is also the host organization for the Alliance for Affordable Internet, a global coalition of organizations working to reduce the costs of broadband and increase access to the internet.[9]

Research

The Web Foundation produces a number of research products including the Open Data Barometer, the Affordability Report, the Web Index and other studies and reports.[10]

Campaigning

In November 2018, the Web Foundation launched the #ForTheWeb campaign, unveiled by founder Berners-Lee at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal. The campaign calls on governments, companies and citizens to commit to defending a free and open web by signing up to a Contract for the Web.[11]

The Contract for the Web[12] was published as a set of initial high level principles that was built into a full contract published 25 November 2019.[13] [14] These principles received backing from governments including Germany[15] and France,[16] companies such as Google, Facebook and Cloudflare, as well as a number of civil society organizations.[17]

See also

References

  1. Web site: Ways to Give. World Wide Web Foundation. November 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030859/https://webfoundation.org/get-involved/ways-to-give/. December 1, 2017. live.
  2. Smith, Craig. "Internet founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee to deliver prestigious Adam Smith Lecture in Fife". The Courier. March 15, 2019.
  3. News: Warning sounded on web's future. September 15, 2008. news.bbc.co.uk. September 16, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080916065056/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7613201.stm. September 16, 2008. live.
  4. Web site: Tim Berners-Lee launches "WWW Foundation" at IGF 2009. Ars. Staff. November 17, 2009. Ars Technica. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20110416094117/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/tim-berners-lee-launches-www-foundation-at-igf-2009.ars. April 16, 2011. live.
  5. Web site: Delivering Digital Equality: The Web Foundation's 2017 – 2022 Strategy. World Wide Web Foundation. February 10, 2017 . November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190908022423/https://webfoundation.org/2017/02/delivering-digital-equality-the-web-foundations-2017-2022-strategy/. September 8, 2019. live.
  6. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/Gordon-Brown-Sets-Out-His-Plans-For-The-Future-Ex-PM-And-Wife-Sarah-Will-Work-On-Charity-Projects/Article/201009115711936?lpos=Politics_First_UK_News_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15711936_Gordon_Brown_Sets_Out_His_Plans_For_The_Future%3A_Ex-PM_And_Wife_Sarah_Will_Work_On_Charity_Projects Gordon's Future: Ex-PM Reveals His Big Plans
  7. News: The web can be weaponized – and we can't count on big tech to stop it | Tim Berners-Lee. Tim. Berners-Lee. The Guardian . March 12, 2018. www.theguardian.com. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191031043353/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/12/tim-berners-lee-web-weapon-regulation-open-letter. October 31, 2019. live.
  8. Web site: About. World Wide Web Foundation. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191031021016/https://webfoundation.org/about/. October 31, 2019. live.
  9. Web site: Home. Alliance for Affordable Internet. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191107163304/https://a4ai.org/. November 7, 2019. live.
  10. Web site: Research. World Wide Web Foundation. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190404141235/https://webfoundation.org/research-publications/. April 4, 2019. live.
  11. Web site: Web creator Berners-Lee launches contract for better internet. November 5, 2018. uk.reuters.com. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190611071317/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-portugal-websummit-berners-lee-idUKKCN1NA2DI. June 11, 2019. live.
  12. Web site: Contract for the Web. Contract for the Web. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191125062936/https://contractfortheweb.org/. November 25, 2019. live.
  13. News: Cellan-Jones . Rory . Web inventor attacks Tories over misinformation . 25 November 2019 . BBC . 25 November 2019 . BBC-TBL . https://web.archive.org/web/20191125090701/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50539795 . November 25, 2019 . live .
  14. News: Berners-Lee . Tim . I Invented the World Wide Web. Here's How We Can Fix It. . 25 November 2019 . New York Times . 24 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191125033056/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/opinion/world-wide-web.html . November 25, 2019 . live .
  15. Web site: Bund unterstützt "Contract for the web". Startseite. November 28, 2018 . November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190428185442/https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bund-unterstuetzt-contract-for-the-web--1554868. April 28, 2019. live.
  16. Web site: Tim Berners-Lee unveils 'contract' to protect and strengthen the web. Katie. Collins. CNET. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190417202107/https://www.cnet.com/news/tim-berners-lee-unveils-contract-to-protect-and-strengthen-the-web/. April 17, 2019. live.
  17. Web site: Google and Facebook Join Tim Berners-Lee's 'Contract for the Web'. Fortune. November 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190605070516/http://fortune.com/2018/11/06/google-facebook-berners-lee-web-contract/. June 5, 2019. live.

External links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "World Wide Web Foundation".

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