MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — A lot of people have said a lot of things about the confusing issue called “‘Net Neutrality.” One of the latest to weigh in with an opinion is Robert Kahn, the highest of the high muckamucks involved with the development of the internet.While speaking at the Computer History Museum, the co-inventor of TCP/IP spoke out strongly against ‘Net Neutrality legislation, calling it “a slogan,” according to The Register.
During an event held in his honor, Kahn urged his audience to be skeptical of legislation that could impede innovation and experimentation where it is needed by enforcing absolutist views of network architecture.
“If the goal is to encourage people to build new capabilities,” he emphasized, “then the party that takes the lead is probably only going to have it on their ‘Net to start with and it’s not going to be on anyone else’s ‘Net.”
While reminding listeners that the goal of developing the internet was to make it possible for networks to interconnect, he praised using incentives to encourage innovation while stating clearly that “I am totally opposed to mandating that nothing interesting can happen inside the ‘Net” and concluding that what is called “‘Net Neutrality” legislation actually poses a greater threat than does fragmentation.
Khan joins a growing number of senior engineers involved in the development of the standard TCP/IP protocol who has spoken out against ‘Net Neutrality. Although Vint Cerf, who worked with Khan to develop TCP/IP and is now with Google in Washington DC, is a ‘Net Neutrality supporter, Dave Farber (called the “grandfather of the internet) is one of the most vocal critics of such legislation, speaking for many when he has shared his concerns that it would make it difficult for systems engineers to continue their work on issues that relate to data transfer speed.
