World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has concerns over the state and future of the internet that are well-known. He fears that a technology developed to provide universal access to free information has developed a distinct dystopian miasma that unchecked could simply get worse. The primary culprits are excessive government surveillance and wanton corporate personal data collection.
To counter this, Berners-Lee has launched a Contract for the Web (PDF). It has been a year in the making, and is already supported by 160 organizations, including the governments of France and Germany. Its purpose is to make the internet a safer place to be and a more trusted resource to use.
The Contract is in three sections, describing the responsibilities of governments, companies, and citizens. Each section has three basic principles. The principles for governments and companies focus on providing and maintaining universal access to the whole internet, and protecting user rights and privacy. Companies have the additional responsibility to "develop technologies that support the best in humanity and challenge the worst." Citizens' responsibilities are to treat the Web well, to "respect civil discourse and human dignity," and -- where and when necessary -- to "Fight for the Web."
There is noticeably nothing politically overt in this contract. There is no attempt to outlaw nations attacking other nations in cyberspace, nor conducting cyber espionage for military or political secrets. There is nothing to prohibit national governments stockpiling zero-day vulnerabilities for offensive or defensive purposes (the requirement for which is probably the main reason for Microsoft's proposals first for 'norms of behavior' and later for a ' hidden danger berners contract
