Led by Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web Foundation, more than 160 organizations including Google and Microsoft have officially launched the Contract for the Web, a pledge to deal with challenges facing the web including threats to online privacy and security and unequal access and service quality.
The contract, described as a global action plan, is intended to guide the digital policy agendas of governments and the decisions of companies building web technologies. Featured are nine principles, three each for governments, companies, and individuals. For governments, the principles include:
- Ensuring everyone can connect to the Internet.
- Keeping all of the Internet available all of the time.
- Respecting fundamental online privacy and data rights.
For companies, the following principles are endorsed:
- Making the Internet affordable and accessible to everyone.
- Respecting and protecting privacy and personal data to build online trust.
- Developing technologies to support the best in humanity and challenge the worst.
For citizens, the principles include:
- Being creators and collaborators on the web.
- Building communities that respect civil discourse and human dignity.
- Fighting for the web.
Proponents of the contract are calling for more governments and companies to endorse the contract. The French and German governments already have participated. A team of experts behind the contract will pursue new global standards for policy areas.
Berners-Lee announced the project a year ago, and a first draft was published in July 2019. You can endorse the Contract for the Web at the Contract for the Web website.