Tim Berners-Lee—Launched Solid protocol and Inrupt to give users control over their personal data
In 2018, Berners-Lee took a sabbatical from MIT to co-found Inrupt and commercialize the Solid Protocol - a technical architecture giving individuals control over their data through decentralized 'Pods'. The project directly addresses surveillance capitalism by providing an alternative where users, not platforms, own their data. Partners now include NHS, BBC, NatWest, and governments of Flanders, Sweden, and others.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Internet & Web Freedom | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| User Autonomy | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| User Privacy | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.737 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Launched Solid protocol and Inrupt to give users control over their personal data
In 2018, Berners-Lee took a sabbatical from MIT to co-found Inrupt and commercialize the Solid Protocol - a technical architecture giving individuals control over their data through decentralized 'Pods'. The project directly addresses surveillance capitalism by providing an alternative where users, not platforms, own their data. Partners now include NHS, BBC, NatWest, and governments of Flanders, Sweden, and others.