Today, 30 years on from my original proposal for an information management system, half the world is online. It’s a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come, but also an opportunity to reflect on how far we have yet to go.To tackle any problem, we must clearly outline and understand it. I broadly see three sources of dysfunction affecting today’s web:

1. Deliberate, malicious intent, such as state-sponsored hacking and attacks, criminal behaviour, and online harassment.
2. System design that creates perverse incentives where user value is sacrificed, such as ad-based revenue models that commercially reward clickbait and the viral spread of misinformation.
3. Unintended negative consequences of benevolent design, such as the outraged and polarised tone and quality of online discourse.

Governments must translate laws and regulations for the digital age. They must ensure markets remain competitive, innovative and open. And they have a responsibility to protect people’s rights and freedoms online. We need open web champions within government — civil servants and elected officials who will take action when private sector interests threaten the public good and who will stand up to protect the open web.

[Sir Tim Berners-Lee is the founder of the World Wide Web and Web Foundation]

The Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019, a bipartisan, bicameral bill introduced March 11, would require the government to make sure that any devices it purchases meet minimum security requirements. It is being introduced by Sens Mark Warner (D-VA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO), and in the House by Reps Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Will Hurd (R-TX). The bill would try to prevent security vulnerabilities, which it defines as "any attribute of hardware, firmware, software, or combination of or more of these factors that could enable the compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system or its information or physical devices to which it is connected." Specifically, the bill would:

1. Direct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidelines for each agency that are consistent with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommendations, and charge OMB with reviewing these policies at least every five years
2. Require any Internet-connected devices purchased by the federal government to comply with those recommendations. And, direct NIST to work with cybersecurity researchers and industry experts to publish guidance on coordinated vulnerability disclosure to ensure that vulnerabilities related to agency devices are addressed.
3. Require contractors and vendors providing IoT devices to the US government to adopt coordinated vulnerability disclosure policies, so that if a vulnerability is uncovered, that information is disseminated.