Internet founder's message on web's 25th anniversary

(AFP) A website commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Web has gone live Wednesday, March 12, with support from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the World Wide Web Foundation. The site honours the day in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee proposed the system of hypertext links that would become the internet as we know it today. On the occasion, the computer scientist has launched a call to action to ensure the Web remains open and accessible to all. Tim Berners-Lee, the W3C and the World Wide Web Foundation solemnly urge internet users everywhere to do their part to protect and develop an open and free internet in 2014. In a video at webat25.org, Berners-Lee expresses his hope that "the anniversary will spark a global conversation about our need to defend principles that have made the Web successful, and to unlock the Web's untapped potential." "I believe we can build a Web that truly is for everyone," he states, "one that is accessible to all, from any device, and one that empowers all of us to achieve our dignity, rights and potential as humans." The idea is to connect users worldwide in a responsible and secure manner through the establishment of an international framework for internet use, particularly in the wake of recent controversy over government surveillance. "If we want a Web that is truly for everyone, then everyone must play a role in shaping its next 25 years," concludes the man credited with inventing the internet in 1989. Tim Berners-Lee (pictured in 1994) is the man credited with inventing the World Wide Web. Photo: CERN 1994To celebrate the anniversary, the website invites social network users to share their birthday greetings and ideas by using the hashtag #web25. While the World Wide Web was first invented in 1989, it was only in 1993 that CERN published a declaration authorizing free and open use of the technology, marking the true start of the internet's development. Watch Tim Berners-Lee's greeting on the 25th anniversary of the Web: vimeo.com/web25/web25-tbl-greeting