Speaking as director of the World Wide Web consortium, he says the growth of the web should be met with greater responsibility for those who use it, and hiding behind false names doesn’t mesh with that.
“When you look at cyber bullying, you feel that someone who is bullying you should not be anonymous,” said Sir Tim, who featured in the London Olympics Opening Ceremony.
“If someone is libelling, you feel you should have the right to expose them.
“But what happens if you are working for an oppressive company or country? You should have the right to blow the whistle. “
Sir Tim called for “delicate judgement”.
“People should have anonymity up to a point so long as they don’t use it recklessly,” he said.
The British-born computer scientist created the first web page in the world in 1991 which show computers could communicate via the internet.
Viewing text, images and video on the internet, and navigating through pages, was a fantasy before Sir Tim made a proposal to his employer CERN in 1989.
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