The World Wide Web's creator wants an internet 'bill of rights' for its 25th birthday

For the World Wide Web's 25th birthday, its creator is asking for a lofty gift: a bill of rights to govern the internet in response to recent revelations about government surveillance. Tim Berners-Lee said Wednesday that his creation needs a "global constitution" created by users and tailored to their countries.

"Unless we have an open, neutral internet we can rely on without worrying about what's happening at the back door, we can't have open government, good democracy, good health care, connected communities, and diversity of culture," Berners-Lee told The Guardian. "It's not naive to think we can have that, but it is naive to think we can just sit back and get it."

Berners-Lee, who has praised former NSA employee Edward Snowden for revealing details of the U.S. government's spy program, has been a big proponent of fewer controls of the web. He said people's rights are "being infringed more and more on every side," and added that a so-called global constitution is the first step to developing a freer internet.

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