Sir Tim Berners-Lee defends decision to discount Web security

Sir Tim Berners-Lee has defended his decision to give security the go by at the onset of the World Wide Web, The Register reported.

Though he could be blamed today for his decision, according to Sir Tim, at the time he invented the World Wide Web 25 years ago, he wanted to make it easy and convenient for developers to use. He added that goal might have been compromised by factoring in security at that point.

''[The web] might not have taken off if it had been too difficult,'' he told an audience at IP Expo Europe on Tuesday.

Sir Tim's views sharply contrast those of another internet pioneer, Vincent Cerf, who recently expressed regret over not building in security to basic internet protocols. Berners-Lee today is a strong supporter of the current push towards always-on crypto (https) for websites now underway. However, his differing views have more to do with timing and priorities than principles.

During a keynote presentation at the infrastructure conference, Sir Tim unveiled his vision for the web where users would be able to exercise greater control over managing their privacy.

"The idea that privacy is dead is hopelessly sad,'' Sir Tim Berners-Lee said. ''We have to build systems that allow for privacy.''

Sir Tim called for a new model for privacy on the web, whereby people would be legal owners of their data and had full control over its use, The Telegraph reported.

He said that the promise of 'big data' had been undermined by companies using their customers' data to deliver targeted advertising, that only served to make them feel ''a bit queasy''.

He added that people feel reluctant to share their data as every time they went online they felt that they were being spied on by search engines and social networks, which were harvesting their data for financial gain.

Instead, he said, better ways of protecting people's privacy online needed to be devised so that they felt more comfortable sharing information. He said companies and organisations also needed to adopt more defined ideas about "appropriate" use of customer data.

"I would like us to build a world in which I have control of my data. I can sell it to you and we can negotiate a price, but more importantly I will have legal ownership of all the data about me," he said.

"We will be able to write really neat applications that take data from all the different parts of my life, and my friends lives and my family's lives, and really help me live life in a more healthy way."