Governments Are Biggest Threat to Internet, Says Eric Schmidt

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In a speech at London’s Science Museum last week, Google chairman Eric Schmidt explained what he saw as the biggest threat to the Internet and why education is essential to protect it. Individual nations with nefarious intentions, said Schmidt, pose the greatest risk to an open and free Internet. “While threats come from individuals and even groups of people, the biggest problem will be activities stemming from nations that seek to do harm. It is very difficult to identify the source of cyber-criminality and stop it,” he said. Schmidt also expressed concern over the recent rise in government censorship. 

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Critical of the UK’s poor computer programming curriculum in its schools, Schmidt is working with the government there to send more teachers into the classroom who have experience writing code. Google will help to train 100 teachers this summer and give them a stipend to buy teaching aids like the $35 Raspberry Pi computer. “They will receive on-the-job mentoring and training for a further two years. The Google project aims to help around 20,000 pupils from the most disadvantaged communities.” Schmidt says that the next ten years will be a battle to provide Internet security. 

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