Internet's founder/Inventor hails Snowden

[Ichingcarpenter]

26 DECEMBER 2013

Edward Snowden did the world a favour by revealing the scale of surveillance by governments, according to the inventor of the internet.

Tim Berners-Lee said he believed the former CIA agent had behaved responsibly in leaking material about web and phone monitoring.


Snip

And guest editing BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Berners-Lee said was asked if he thought Mr Snowden had "done us all a favour".

"In a word, yes," he replied. "Was there anything else he could have done? Was there any other channel he could have gone through? I think it has been established that there was not."

Mr Berners-Lee went on: "Has he gone to the trouble of doing it as a journalist or with a journalist to make sure that the data he is putting out there in public is carefully selected so as not to harm individuals, so as not to do unnecessary harm to countries, so as to make the point that he needs to make without doing any more damage?

"Now, I think that the process he has been through... has been there."

Mr Berners-Lee said he thought Mr Snowden should be regarded as a "really important part of the system".

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/internet-founder-hails-snowden-29867759.html

[anti partisan]

1. Doesn't he realize that Snowden fled to Russia???

Good insight there, Mr. Berners-Lee.

[merrily]

11. He did not flee to Russia. He fled.

Thanks in part to interference from the US, Russia was the place he was able to stay temporarily and only if he promised no further releases.

[anti partisan]

16. Was just poking a little fun at the haters

But with the amount of posters here who actually do talk like that, it's hard to make it clear that it is sarcasm

[kelliekat44]

17. One does not have to be a "hater" to consider Snowden a traitor. People were hanged or gassed for

turning over far less damaging information to other countries. I can appreciate Snowden's motives and applaud the outcome and be thankful that the government's excessive violation of individual privacy has been exposed. I still feel strongly that the WAY in which Mr. Snowden chose to reveal his information was treasonous and had caused our nation unnecessary harm...the extent to which will remain unknown to the general public but will cost some lives and a fair amount of economic damage...while other nations continue to use technology to spy on the US practically unfettered by Mr. Snowden's revelations. That does not make me a "hater."

[anti partisan]

18. The way he revealed his information was treasonous?

Well first of all I doubt there were any other pathways he could have taken which would have given the information this much (maybe not even any) public exposure.

Also from all I've read it seems he's handed everything with due diligence, making sure only certain things would get released which would not damage the US's national security.

And costing lives and economic damage? Where did you pull that one out of? Maybe economic damage for RSA, the security company which essentially accepted a bribe to backdoor their security system.

[sendero]

19. You..

... really don't know what you are talking about.

[merrily]

22. Do you also consider Ellsberg to have committed treason?

By what right did this country's government secretly spy on so many people? Maybe that was the real treason.

After all, they betrayed the Constitution, even though most who work for government take an oath to uphold it, or defend and protect it. This country is the Constitution, not some arbitrary desire of government to spy on everyone in the world and over-classify information in violation of law.

And what harm did Snowden cause this country? Embarrassment of people wrongfully spying is not harm to the country.

[frylock]

32. treason has a very specific definition, and snowden's acts don't meet that criteria

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Don't forget to have your 3 minutes of hate

when you post on this thread..... Oh and don't forget to include Greenwald in your usual rants slamming Sir Berners-Lee

[anti partisan]

4. Forgot about that egomaniac Greenwald

He's only in it for the money now that he's criticizing the Obama administration. When he was criticizing Bush he was a wonderful altruistic journalist. Maybe he should get a one way ticket to Russia so he can see the land of civil liberties that his hero the hypocrite Snowden fled to.

[solarhydrocan]

5. plain as day

He's only in it for the money now that he's criticizing the Obama administration. When he was criticizing Bush he was a wonderful altruistic journalist.

America died because the citizens couldn't unite about anything. anything at all. And while their liberties were stolen by con artists and brigands they hated each other instead of the looters. While their money was stolen for wars of aggression and control they talked about duck dynasties.

America died, and no one noticed because they hated each other. And felt good about it.

[anti partisan]

6. Well stated (nt)

[sendero]

20. All very true.

... but Greenwald was only a bit player in that fiasco. If you want to see the real culprits turn on the evening news or buy a major newspaper.

[LeftishBrit]

13. He didn't go to Russia because he loves Russia...

he went because it was the one place, that at a particular time, would have him.

The surveillance is not a political-party thing. It's been going on forever, though it's got higher-tech in recent years. I don't know about you, but I don't like to be spied on, either by my own government or by our allies, and I think it's a good thing that it's being exposed.

Actually the revelations didn't surprise me. I always assumed that both my own government and yours were spying the hell out of the citizens of both our countries - but I think it's good to have it out in the open. Who wants 1984?

[DeSwiss]

15. So you're saying he shouldn't criticize Obama?

Why does he get a pass?

What about our liberties?

Do they rate any attention?

- Or should we just burn the Constitution and be done with the pretending?


''If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.'' ~Harry S. Truman

[solarhydrocan]

3. Saw something- Said something

isn't that what we're all told to do now?

[randome]

21. Except he will never say what he saw.

He said he 'saw things' but won't ever explain what that means.

A week or so ago he said for the first time that he brought something to the attention of his superiors -after all these months!- but he was vague even on that.

I think the only thing he saw was an opportunity to escape his drab existence.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game. -Existenz[/center][/font][hr]

[woo me with science]

7. Thank you, Edward Snowden.

[B Calm]

8. The only thing Snowden revealed is that our

top secret surveillance is being done by private corporations.

[IDemo]

9. Small quibble

While I agree with Mr. Berners-Lee's sentiments, the headline should read "inventor of the internet as we know it", meaning the world-wide web.

Q: I understand you invented the Internet....

A: Sorry, not me! I was lucky enough to invent the Web at the time when the Internet already existed - and had for a decade and a half. If you are looking for fathers of the Internet, try Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn who defined the "Internet Protocol" (IP) by which packets are sent on from one computer to another until they reach their destination.

http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html#Internet

[hootinholler]

24. I was working for a publisher

Doing CDRom development at the time. We had more bandwidth in a single CD stuffed in a fedex envelope that we had on teh internet at the time.

We were all wondering where the bandwidth to support the web would come from. None of us realized it would come from the porn industry.

[randome]

30. Heh. Porn gave rise to the Internet and religion gave rise to science.

Funny world, isn't it?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[cantbeserious]

12. Thank You Snowden - Thank You Greenwald - Please Keep Up The Good Work

eom

[MrMickeysMom]

14. Tim Berners-Lee is RIGHT...

Edward Snowden is the hero we should all wish to be!

[Freddie Stubbs]

23. Berners-Lee is not the founder/inventor of the Internet

He created the WWW, one part of the Internet.

[jeff47]

25. The "Internet" was invented in 1968

That's when the design for ARPANET was completed. It was the first network to use IP packet switching. ARPANET would grow and be privatized into the Internet.

Tim Berners-Lee was 13 at the time. And not inventing any networks.

Tim Berners-Lee created HTTP and HTML. They run on top of TCP, which runs on top of IP. To call him "the Internet's founder or Inventor" is more wrong than saying "The sky is neon green".

[Ichingcarpenter]

26. Then write to the newspaper

I just copied what I found on the World wide web from a newspaper on the world wide web www. which I wrote an OP on DU on the World wide web address.

Still doesn't lessen his contributions nor what he said but thanks for kicking the thread

[jeff47]

28. Actually, it greatly lessens his contributions

In that the article claims he invented the entire thing, and instead he invented one part.....and that part has already moved very, very far away from his original design - key elements of the modern Web are explicitly forbidden by his design.

But please, continue to pretend it's remotely accurate. It really builds credibility.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

31. Jeff47 has nothing. That's why he's attacking from the side.

He's correct about switched packet networks, etc, but he's just using that inaccuracy to attack the messengers. You prevailed in that exchange.

[LittleBlue]

27. Another bad day for the NSA apologists

Oh wait, this is all old news, he obviously doesn't read the news or he would have known this... errrr why is Snowden in Russia... ummmm you realize Snowden's ex-gf was a stripper?

[idwiyo]

29. k&r