Web founder calls for ubiquitous, safe internet access for young people

Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has co-authored an open letter with Rosemary Leith, calling for internet connectivity for all young people around the world.

According to Berners-Lee and Leith, who co-founded the World Wide Web Foundation to advance the open web as a public good and a basic right, funding for network infrastructure, subsidies and support for community networks makes it entirely possible to provide internet access to all young people.

In the letter, the pair called on policymakers to speed up and scale investment to make sure everyone, everywhere is within reach of a meaningful internet connection, with the speeds, data and devices they need to make the most of the web. “An all-out push to connect the world will make sure that young people do not fall through the cracks,” they wrote.

Berners-Lee and Leith cited data from the Web Foundation’s Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), which estimates that $428bn of additional investment over 10 years would provide everyone with a quality broadband connection.

“To put this in perspective, that amounts to the equivalent of just $116 per person for the 3.7 billion people who remain offline today,” they said. “By giving billions more people tools to learn, earn and create, this down payment for future generations would deliver incredible returns in the form of economic growth and social empowerment.” 

In the letter, the pair noted that a 10% increase in the number of people online translates to a 2% lift in an economy’s GDP. They also referred to research showing that achieving universal broadband in the developing world by 2030 would deliver around $8.7tn in direct economic benefits. “We can’t afford not to do it,” they said.

“By giving billions more people tools to learn, earn and create, this down payment for future generations would deliver incredible returns in the form of economic growth and social empowerment”