Tim Berners-Lee Worries Australian Law Could Make the Web ‘Unworkable’

Anthony Cuthbertson, reporting for The Independent:

“Specifically, I am concerned that that code risks breaching a fundamental principle of the web by requiring payment for linking between certain content online,” Berners-Lee told a Senate committee scrutinizing a bill that would create the New Media Bargaining Code.

If the code is deployed globally, it could “make the web unworkable around the world”, he said.

It’s a question dividing proponents and critics of the proposed Australian law: does it effectively make Google and Facebook “pay for clicks” and might it be the beginning of the end of free access?

I don’t know what this Berners-Lee guy knows about the web, but I agree.

★ Friday, 19 February 2021