The World Wide Web’s creator is weighing in on Facebook Inc.’s Cambridge Analytica data controversy — and Tim Berners-Lee isn’t ripping into Mark Zuckerberg.
While some experts are blasting Zuckerberg for how he has handled the firestorm, Berners-Lee sounded relatively sympathetic toward Facebook’s co-founder and CEO, as the Oxford professor posted a series of tweets overnight:
As the web celebrated its 29th birthday last week, Berners-Lee expressed disappointment with how his invention has turned out. He criticized Facebook FB, +0.74% and other tech heavyweights last week, saying they have “made it possible to weaponize the web at scale.”
But on Monday, the British computer scientist essentially told Zuck to buck up.
“I would say to him: You can fix it,” Berners-Lee tweeted.
“It won’t be easy, but if companies work with governments, activists, academics and web users, we can make sure platforms serve humanity.”
The criticisms of Zuckerberg have included Anand Giridharadas — the author of “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World” — saying the Facebook boss epitomizes “an age of billionaire savior delusions.”
Zuckerberg apologized Wednesday night for the recent controversy during an interview with CNN, and said he’d be willing to testify before Congress.
The social-media giant has been enduring a firestorm and stock selloff after data-mining company Cambridge Analytica reportedly used the personal details of 50 million Facebook users without authorization.