Why has CredWeb been silent when it is now needed more than ever?

If "the mission of the W3C Credible Web Community Group is to help *shift
the Web toward more trustworthy content without increasing censorship or
social division*" then why, during a period when issues with web
credibility have never been more urgent, nor more broadly discussed, has
this group remained silent?

In just the United States, since the November 2020 elections, we've seen
the web exploited to distribute lies and assertions that contributed both
to creating and amplifying social divisions which have weakened the
foundations of the US system of government and that helped to motivate and
justify a shocking attack on the US Capitol and Congress. Since the
election, we've seen a growing chorus calling for private companies and
"algorithms" to engage in censorship which would achieve through private
government that which our public government is, and should be,
constitutionally prohibited from imposing. And, we have seen private
companies act in response to those calls... Through all this, CredWeb has
been silent...

Why isn't this mailing list ablaze with calls to action, analyses of the
problem, and proposals to address it? Is it the opinion of this group's
members that all that can be done has been done? If so, do you really
believe that there is nothing more that can be offered by technological
means to "shift the web toward more trustworthy content?" Would discussion
of these issues and their potential solutions be welcomed here?

If this is not the forum for the discussion of issues related to
credibility of web content, then what is the correct forum for such
discussions?

bob wyman

Received on Sunday, 17 January 2021 20:33:05 UTC