Timothy Berners-Lee slams Internet fast lanes: ‘It’s bribery.’

A quarter-century ago, Timothy Berners-Lee designed the world's first Web browser and server, kicking off a thing that people started calling the World Wide Web. Now he says that system is in danger from Internet service providers (ISPs) who stand to amass too much power over what was intentionally built as a decentralized network -- one where no single actor could dictate outcomes to everyone else.

Berners-Lee pushed back against opponents of net neutrality regulation who argue that applying new rules on ISPs is tantamount to regulating the Internet. But there's a difference between regulating providers of broadband and the services that run on top of it, said Berners-Lee. Strong net neutrality rules would help preserve that line dividing the two and limit the incentive of ISPs to meddle in the market for services.