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WWW Turns 25

August 2, 2016

The first website went live 25 years ago, making the World Wide Web publically available. Today its founding principle of free information accessible to all is threatened by commercial interests and state censorship.

https://p.dw.com/p/1JaAD
DW Shift Screenshot Tim Berners-Lee
Image: dpa

On August 6, 1991, English computer scientist Tim Berners Lee launched the first public Web page. It's hard to imagine life without the Internet these days. But in many countries content is censored and access blocked. User numbers and sheer volume of data are stretching the Web to its limits. In Europe, some providers are considering 'specialized services'. Critics say this poses a threat to net neutrality.