The
Internet is our largest shared global resource so we all need to participate in
the creation and maintenance of a healthy Internet. There are five main
determinants of internet health, namely: decentralization, digital inclusion,
online privacy and security, openness, and Web literacy.
Web Literacy: Everyone needs to be able to read, write and
participate in the digital world. More people need to move from consuming to
creating and defending the Web. Everyone should have the knowledge needed to
tap into the full power of the internet and use it to improve their lives. The
promoted concept of universal Web literacy emerged in response to the
deficiency in web creators and defenders. This concept states that everyone
should be able to read, write and participate online. Everyone needs to possess
the skills required for healthy internet citizenship. These skills enable users
shape the Web, keep themselves safe and/or even make a living with the
Internet. Web literacy is much more than coding, coding is just one of the
aspects of Web literacy. Web literacy is the fourth foundational skill next to
reading, writing and arithmetic.
Decentralization: Decentralization of the
internet means sharing the control of the internet, such that no single actor
can own, control or switch off the internet for everyone. When the control of
the Internet rests in the hands of just a few organizations and governments,
the vital flow of ideas and ideas is hindered. Decentralization of the internet
entails net neutrality. Our dependence on network providers for internet access
puts them in a position to restrict that access for selfish reasons. The
principle of net neutrality prohibits such restrictions, and content based
discriminations, making equal access possible According to AccessNow, as of
December 2016, 47 countries had put in place laws to protect net neutrality.
Local contribution is one of the requirements for a decentralized Internet. The
web would reflect and serve all of its users if we all contributed to the Web.
About 3 billion people use the internet today but not all users are able to
contribute to it equally. As such, the Web doesn't reflect the full diversity
of its users and doesn't work as well for some users as others. This leaves
room for possible marginalization of certain communities and individuals.
Only 11%
of the Web is in Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese, though these people
make up 37.5% of the total online population. In order to support local
contribution, create web content in your language. A good tool for
"writing the Web on the Web" is Thimble. The Internet is
decentralized but our actions on the Internet are controlled by just a handful
of global technology giants, making these companies look more like monopolies
of the past. This is unhealthy for the Internet.
Online Privacy and Security: The safety and security
of the Internet affects all its users. The Internet is healthy only if it can
be trusted as a safe place to explore, transact, connect and create. This is
one of the most delicate issues in Internet health as our privacy and security
online is always under threat all the time. Internet users must be informed and
protected. As users, we should be able to determine who collects our data. We
should be able to determine, with clarity and confidence, what information,
which companies we share our information with, and understand the implications
that come with sharing. Most of us lack meaningful choice online as privacy
policies are often extremely lengthy. We lack an understanding of the
information we share, when we share and usually of how to back off sharing. Pew
Research Center in 2015 determined that 91 % of adults agree to having lost
control of how personal information is collected and used by companies. In
order to enhance user control, make your mobile apps have access to just the
information they need, not more. Manage your preferences for all your social
media accounts and web browsers.
A safe
and healthy internet should also give its users the opportunity to protect
their online identity. Data breaches could expose the passwords of millions of
people, which could go on for years without the public's knowledge. We are all
at risk of identity theft. The biggest security breach in history happened in
December 2016, with 1 billion accounts affected. To reduce the risk of cyber-security
attacks, use 2-factor authentication and choose strong passwords.
Digital Inclusion: This means everyone can
access and participate in building the Internet. Many barriers prevent the
world's full diversity from being reflected on the Web. Over half of the world
is still without Internet. Some of those who have access are limited by factors
like censorship, unreliable connections and high cost. Language also acts as a
barrier as Web content is predominantly in English. People living in richer countries
have far greater access to the Internet. 
Women have slower Internet adoption
than men in almost all countries of the world. Several governments temporarily
switch off some parts of the Internet or totally shut it down for several
reasons (violating human rights), which ultimately result in significant
economic losses. According to AccessNow, there were 51 intentional Internet
shutdowns in 18 countries in 2016.
Openness: An open internet makes innovation and collaboration possible.
People should be able to build and share through the use of open source code.
Our Copyright and patent laws should, in this digital age, foster collaboration
and economic opportunity.
Working open means sharing the things we do, the way
we do them and we leave them open to change or improvement by users. Open
source has to keep being the core of the internet so that we all can see,
verify and contribute to the future of the Internet.
You can support Open
source by contributing to an existing open source project. OpenHatch could get
you started. GitHub is the world's largest open source community. It is made up
of 19 million developers, 100,000 teams, and 52 million repositories for both
developing and established technologies.
Bibliography
Mozilla.
(n.d.). A healthy Internet is open for innovation. Retrieved
January 28, 2018, from Mozilla Corporation:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/internet-health/open-innovation/
Mozilla.
(n.d.). Internet Health Basics | Openness Activity. Retrieved
January 28, 2018, from mozilla.github.io: https://mozilla.github.io/curriculum-final/internet-health-basics/session06-openness.html#overview
Mozilla.
(n.d.). Who is welcome online? Retrieved January 28, 2018,
from internethealthreport.org:
https://internethealthreport.org/v01/digital-inclusion/
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