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Today's topic is "Web Inventor: World Must Close Internet Divide"

World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has said the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates "the gross inequality" of a world where almost half the population is unable to connect to the internet.

Speaking at the launch of the UN's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, Berners-Lee said that around 3.5 billion people have missed out on the "lifeline" the internet has provided by enabling work and education to continue during the pandemic.

Since the onset of the pandemic, internet usage has jumped 70%, the use of communication apps has grown by 300%, and virtual collaboration tools by 600%. Some video streaming services have grown 20-fold, said Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

But Schwab also emphasized that only about half of the world has internet access. Of the 25 least connected countries, 21 are in Africa.

"This inequality is a barrier to wider equality, and we know it most affects those who are already marginalized — people in developing countries, those on low incomes, and of course, women and girls, Berners-Lee said.

Tackling inequality requires raising the bar from basic access to ensuring that people have "meaningful connectivity" to the internet "that must include data and devices to use the full power of it," Berners-Lee said.

By 2030, the UN Roadmap says that every person should have affordable access to the internet.

The Roadmap aims "to connect, respect, and protect people in the digital age," and was partly developed by the World Wide Web Foundation, co-founded by Berners-Lee.

Last year the foundation launched the "Contract for the Web," a global plan for governments, companies and individuals to increase connectivity, protect people's privacy, and keep knowledge freely available, among other goals.

The contract has 1,300 endorsements and the foundation is developing ways for governments and companies to show how they're living up to commitments.

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