Internet: Background And Impact Of World Wide Web

Background

In June of 1980, Tim Berners-Lee, an engineer and computer scientist, who was at the time an independent contractor for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), was tasked with developing a system that would allow particle physicists to be able to share discoveries and various data related to physics within the organization [2][3]. Due to the nature of the working environment that Berners-Lee found himself in, it was evident that the end product would need to be a system that could accommodate the needs of various colleagues, who would fly in from all corners of the world to collaborate and conduct research [1]. It is important to realize that at the time, the Internet had already existed for a decade and a half, and as such could serve as a platform for the development of Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web [4]. The requirement of flexibility, in the project assigned to Berners-Lee, was underlined by the diversity in the programming languages, styles of design, and hardware variation in use [1]. Collaboration at CERN would occur by means of peer-to-peer agreement and academic mutual respect [1]. A consequence of this is that it was virtually impossible for there to be a unanimous decision on enforced hardware and software types [1]. Berners-Lee would be forced to cater to the large variety in machines and interfaces used by the employees at CERN.

Development

In his initial year at CERN, Berners-Lee would go on to develop an early prototype of what would later become the main premise behind the World Wide Web: a small hypertext program he called Enquire [1][4]. Berners-Lee would use Enquire to underline the interdependencies between people, programs, and hardware within CERN [4].

In1989, Berners-Lee came to realize the potential for Enquire, and pushed for its expansion and use within CERN, a movement which was widely met with unenthusiastic responses from Berners-Lee’s superiors [1][4]. Berners-Lee later having doubts of his own, was worried that nobody would use a system for sharing information that itself contained little to no information. In 1990, Berners-Lee would find the first real application for his idea; he would use his invention to store the companies phone book [1]. Through the support of his colleagues and a toolbox composed of the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the first Web browser, and other tools, Berners-Lee would create the earliest prototype of what would develop into the World Wide Web of today: a simple user interface that allowed the user to look up and edit telephone numbers [1][5]. It also contained the first web pages, which described Berners-Lee’s Web project [1].

Berners-Lee would go on to share his idea on other internet-based mediums, garnering feedback, ideas, source code, and even adoption of his Web [1]. Berners-Lee would later depart from CERN in 1992 [1]. At this stage, the World Wide Web had seen substantial exposure and was undergoing adoption primarily by university-based scientific departments around the world [3]. By 1993, there had been over five hundred servers connected to the Web [1][2]. The first-ever International WWW conference was held at CERN in 1994, where it was ruled that any person or persons could use the Web protocol and code royalty-free [3]. It was at this stage that control of the World Wide Web was completely out of Berners-Lee’s hands. The web had now crossed into the public domain, beginning to see massive adoption and use on a global scale.

The period between 1991-2001 saw what is referred to as the “Dot-com” boom. Low-interest rates coupled with the novelty of the dot-com concept facilitated a large increase in start-up companies and websites [3]. After the Dot-com bubble burst, the companies that survived eventually saw large growth and profits, some even flourishing into the enormous corporations observed today (Google, Amazon, eBay/PayPal). From 2002 onwards, the internet saw developments through telecommunication companies in its accessibility, permitting companies to further invest into and develop the World Wide Web into a more compelling platform [3][4]. This period also saw the formulation of the ‘social media phenomenon, with companies such as Facebook and MySpace accruing massive popularity. The post-2002 period saw the further acceptance of the Web as a public domain, with a variety of service-based start-ups catering to the needs of everyday people.

Impact

The first significant Web browser, often credited with ‘popularising the web’ was created by a team at the University of Illinois in 1992, titled Mosaic [1][2]. The following years saw the boom of graphic user interfaces, with students at various institutions creating browsers, which contained features such as embedded graphics and animation [1][2]. Significant advances in media compression allowed for the distribution and streaming of media over the Web [9]. Voice Over Internet Protocol, allowed for the first-ever ‘internet telephone’ to become available to the public in 1995 and consequently provided a platform for services such as Skype [9]. The rapid growth of the Web had allowed for companies and corporations to advertise and offer their services over the internet; two-way communication over the Web allowed for the possibility of trading and selling over the internet, a phenomenon referred to today as e-commerce [9]. 1996 saw the development of the first-ever Web search engine, RankDex, with a site scoring algorithm. Google Search would later be founded, a search engine based on a similar ranking algorithm to the one used in RankDex, in 1998 [9]. Web browsers were innovative as they allowed users to find relevant information a lot quicker than it would take without them. Peer-to-peer communication, rising to the mainstream in 1999, allowed data to be shared from computer to computer, without a central node [9]. This accelerated the speed at which files could be transmitted and allowed for the consequent development of online media distribution [9]. In 2005, a platform for video viewing and sharing called YouTube was created. The platform introduced a new concept whereby the content on the platform was solely user-submitted [9].

Unfortunately making the Web availably freely, with no patent and no royalties due, is a double-edged sword. Malicious users can use the Web to share viruses and worms to other machines, corrupting files and deleting data [6]. Scammers, fishers, and cyber terrorists may coerce unsuspecting people into giving away crucial bank details or go as far as stealing the identity of an individual [7]. Hackers may break into Web databases and steal information related to banking and personal details [7]. People can publicly humiliate, harass, slander, and stalk people through social media websites [7]. Websites may be used to share pornographic images and videos, some exploiting children and providing platforms for illegal activities such as pedophilia, human trafficking, and illegal transactions [7]. Websites on the internet have become the greatest timewasters and distractions from everyday life [7]. The same peer-to-peer communication mentioned previously, provided a platform for piracy to occur, through the exchange of intellectual property that did not belong to the sender or receiver [7]. These are some of the adversities that arise when no governing body is in charge.

Accountability

When building a hugely innovative system such as the World Wide Web, it is necessary to take into consideration the repercussions such a system would have on the people that may use it. It is important for the inventor to take into consideration the nature of people in society, in determining the worst possible outcome from the misuse of their invention and working to prevent the hypothetical scenarios that could arise. As Berners-Lee saw his invention gain widespread use, he saw the need for a body of governance, that could oversee the future development of the technology [1][3]. In September of 1994, Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium, an organization that would create standards to improve the overall quality of the Web, with the help of the European Commission and Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) [2]. This was a move in the right direction, as it allowed for a universal set of standards and practices to be made for individuals and companies to follow. During an interview in 1998, Berners-Le was asked about what an individual should be aware of as the web evolves. Berners-Lee responded in a statement, that resonates to this day: “…be information-smart, a website or a piece of software will always give the user biased information…” [4]. From his actions and sentiment, it is clear that Berners-Lee had good intentions in his vision for what the World Wide Web would become.

What Berners-Lee could not foresee, however, was the immense expansion of the World Wide Web into what it is today. Indeed, it would have been difficult to fathom the potential this invention held, let alone develop a method for monitoring and filtering the actions of billions of individuals across the globe. It instead lies to the providers of the various services on the World Wide Web, to monitor users and filter content shared through said services, and to accept full responsibility if something were to go wrong on their platforms. Companies such as Facebook and Google are constantly working to innovate in the field of filtering illicit content, working to ban malicious individuals from their services. It is important to monitor the developments made by these corporations within this field, and to scrutinize them for any decisions that may infringe on the user’s freedoms or rights; all too often there have been cases where a corporation may cross the line, infringing on the privacy of their users and sometimes even themselves distributing user information under a shady guise. In the context of criminal prosecution, law authorities around the world maintain ‘cyber-crime units, specializing in capturing and arresting cybercriminals [7]. Large corporations often come to agreements with law authorities, allowing for the use of their Web services in capturing these cybercriminals [7]. It can thus be concluded that the World Wide Web maintains the status of an innovative “work-in-progress”, forcing corporations, companies, and everyday people to maintain caution when using the Web.