Internet development mostly beneficial, experts say

Web's harmful effects can be weeded out via improvement of regulations

Experts and international organization representatives discussed their understanding of internet development at a forum on Sunday during the sixth World Internet Conference.

In his greeting letter to the Wu Talk forum, Robert Kahn, chairman of DONA Foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland, praised the contribution of internet development and wished the conference a success.

Over the past two decades, the internet has developed significantly thanks to technological innovation and government support in China. Wuzhen in Zhejiang province is the epitome of China's internet industry development.

Wuzhen is now covered by a 5G network, with more than 60 intelligent programs planned to be put into operation soon.

"When we started to use the internet, we had to use cables, but now we can have wireless connections," Murai Jun, a professor at Keio University in Japan, said at the forum.

"I think the biggest change of the internet is the infrastructure development of wireless technology, which greatly supports internet development," he added.

"Nowadays the internet cannot only be used by academicians, but also by every common person," he added.

"In the past, we also wanted everybody to use the internet, but not everybody could afford it. Then more enterprises entered this industry, making the internet more popular," said Stephen Wolff, principal scientist at Internet2.

"I like most of the changes that the internet has brought to us. For example, e-commerce has brought great convenience to us," said David Farber, a distinguished professor and co-director of the Keio University Cyber Civilization Research Center.

"The internet has become a revolutionized telecommunication system instead of TV, radio and telegraph," Farber said.

"However, I never thought of the great power that social media has brought to us. Some people even use social media to attack others," he added.

While the internet has brought about some negative effects, most of the results have been positive, said Zhou Hongren, executive vice-chairman of the Advisory Committee for State Informatization.

"I think people mostly benefit as the internet develops," Zhou said. "People can communicate with each other everywhere at anytime."

When talking about how to reject the internet's bad influences and encourage its healthy development, Zhou suggested improvement on universal rules and regulations.

Wolff also called for new regulations on cyberspace since new problems continually arise with internet use.

The Wu Talk, focusing on the future of the internet, was held to mark the internet's 50th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of China's full access to the internet.

The forum, themed The Beauty of Intelligent Interconnection, introduced a series of comprehensive and forward-looking discussions.