Facebook and Google have signed up to new internet standards designed by world wide web founder Tim Berners-Lee, who said just last week that the companies may have to be broken up to reduce their dominance.

The “contract for the web” will require internet companies to respect data privacy and “support the best in humanity”, after a year in which they have faced unprecedented criticism for data privacy scandals and the spread of fake news, hate speech and online abuse.

“Those of us who are online are seeing our rights and freedoms threatened,” Sir Tim will say at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon on Monday evening. “We need a new contract for the web, with clear and tough responsibilities for those who have the power to make it better.”