Why the sudden change of mind from W3C?

Up til now, the W3C has been working to the benefit of users of what is 
generally called the Internet.
So why has W3C suddenly turned around 180 degrees and why do W3C now work 
against the principles they have upheld until recently?

A few years ago, the attitude of W3C was somewhat different, when it fought 
for its Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) standard, which sets 
technical specifications so that Web browsers can communicate automatically 
with Web sites about privacy. The proposed standard faced a patent 
challenge from Intermind, which argued that the standard violated a patent 
it held on "push" technology. At the time, the W3C claimed that companies 
would be deterred from supporting P3P if they were forced to pay a 
licensing fee to Intermind. The consortium asked its members to help search 
for evidence that the technology was not original so it could defeat the 
challenge, and it was eventually successful.

Therefore, I cannot for my life understand how W3C can take such a turn in 
opinion about standards. I would like to see an explanation from W3C on 
this issue that makes sense. I haven't seen one yet.

Best regards,
David List
david@davidlist.dk

Received on Saturday, 6 October 2001 03:58:41 UTC