‘Father of the Internet’ warns Web freedom is under attack

“Father of the Internet” Vint Cerf warned that Internet freedom is under threat from governments around the world, including the United States. Cerf, a computer scientist who was instrumental in the Internet’s creation, now employed by Google as its "Internet evangelist," said officials in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe are using intellectual property and cybersecurity issues "as an excuse for constraining what we can and can't do on the 'net.”

"Political structures … are often scared by the possibility that the general public might figure out that they don't want them in power," he said. He sounded the alarm about the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), arguing the group is poised to assume the role of global Internet cop. “There is strong indication that the Internet will enter the picture [for the ITU]," Cerf said at the Freedom to Connect conference.