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Internet inventor warns of online security and privacy threat

Internet security concerns have been raised by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the internet, who has stated that people's privacy must be protected.

Data collection of internet users' habits and information by third parties such as commercial organisations and governments should be curtailed as this information could be misused.

Speaking to parliamentarians at Westminster, Mr Berners-Lee warned that people's online security and privacy are threatened by this "extremely sensitive information".

"We use the internet without a thought that a third party would know what we have clicked on. But the URLs people use reveal a huge amount about their lives, loves, hates and fears," he said.

"People use the web in a crisis, when wondering whether they have a sexually transmitted disease, or cancer, when wondering if they are homosexual and whether to talk about it."

Data collection threatens to destroy this confidentiality, he warned during the marking of the 20th anniversary of the World Wide Web.

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