A monthly series from the Web Foundation

The web was made for this moment
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2020 has been a year unlike any in living memory, exposing brutal inequalities, new and old.

In the first half of the year we’ve seen a global pandemic that has affected everyone — but hit those on the margins the hardest. Coupled with a powerful movement against systemic racial injustice and structural inequalities, it’s clear we’re in a moment of transformational change. The world cannot and should not return to the status quo.

At the Web Foundation, we believe that the web must play a part in shaping this post-Covid world for the better. The web is one of the most powerful tools the world has seen to drive equality, opportunity and human progress.

But there are challenges we must tackle. If the web is to live up to its potential, it must be safe and empowering for everyone.

To fight for this web we want, we will redouble our efforts, take this moment of uncertainty, and use it for good.
 
Here we untangle the work we’re doing to shape the agenda, make the case for action and map a way forward. Thank you for joining us on this journey.


With all best wishes,

Adrian Lovett
World Wide Web Foundation President and CEO
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Shaping the agenda

In March, we outlined an agenda for action to make sure the web is part of the solution to the Covid-19 crisis — not the problem.

The web is both a lifeline and a critical force in helping to curb the spread of the virus, providing vital public health information and helping us live virtually when meeting physically threatens human lives. But it could do so much more if we could overcome three obstacles.
We called for action in three key areas:
  1. Making sure everyone can connect to the internet
  2. Tackling the dangerous pandemic of misinformation
  3. Using data to tackle the virus while ensuring our privacy is protected
Making the case
 
We’re making our case for action in support of this agenda. Recent months have seen our team argue for a new push to get the web to the whole world as a universal right:
 
🎧  "The digital divide is both a symptom, and a cause, of inequality at large." - Sir Tim Berners-Lee, BBC Rethink Series
 
📣 "Digital connectivity has created new avenues for democratic action and disrupted entrenched power the world over. The same technologies that help power civic action have become more essential in our lives than ever before due to Covid-19." - Sonia Jorge, Thomson Reuters Foundation
 
🌐 "Governments need to look at internet access, not as a luxury, but to see it as an enabler that can transform their economies." - Eleanor Sarpong, CNN
 
We must close the digital gender divide if we’re to meet this goal of universal internet access. Yet, the Covid-19 crisis has driven a spike of online abuse against women, writes Chenai Chair in a submission to the United Nations. 

We need tech firms to focus on online gender-based violence — now and in the future — in the same way they’ve worked to tackle disinformation and promoting official advice about the virus.
Our founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee warned earlier this year that too often the web does not work for women and girls and that without urgent action to ensure women can use the internet freely and safely, progress on women’s equality is at risk.
Mapping the way forward
 
So where do we go next?

1️⃣  We need an all-out push to get the world connected to the web.

We will be campaigning and working with governments and network operators through our Alliance for Affordable Internet to get affordable internet access for everyone, everywhere. We’re also raising the bar, targeting not only basic internet access but ‘Meaningful Connectivity’ where everyone has the data, devices and speeds they need to truly benefit from all the web has to offer.

2️⃣  As more people connect to the web, it must also be a web worth having.

That means action to fix the web’s problems — and our focus will be combating the growing scourge of online gender-based violence. We are convening consultations where tech companies listen to and learn from the women who are impacted by their products and services, and work with them to design policies and products that work for everyone. Meanwhile, we’re working with fantastic partners across Africa, Asia and Latin America to close the digital gender gap through our Women’s Rights Online program.

3️⃣  We must lay the groundwork for a better future for the web.

We are developing the five-year plan for the Contract for the Web, a platform for action bringing together companies, governments and citizens to protect the web as a public good for everyone. This includes building more detailed policy recommendations and ways to hold organisations accountable for their commitments. More to come later this year.
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