Berners-Lee: Internet must not discriminate

World wide web father Tim Berners-Lee told politicians on Thursday that it's critical to shield his seminal innovation from control by a single company or country.

Speaking before a US House of Representatives panel responsible for writing internet and telecommunications laws, the knighted engineer said a top priority for policymakers must be "making sure the web itself is the blank sheet, the blank canvas, something that does not constrain the innovation that's around the corner".

That means ensuring anyone can use the web regardless of what software or hardware they're running, which internet service provider supplies their connection, which language they speak, and what disabilities they have, Berners-Lee said.

He was the sole witness invited to speak at a hearing in Washington, DC titled The Future of the World Wide Web, the first of a series of events designed to keep politicians up to speed on communications issues.

Although he has previously voiced support for Net neutrality, Berners-Lee on Thursday stopped short of taking a position on the various bills on that topic proposed in Congress in the past year.

He said: "I can say I feel that a nondiscriminatory internet is very important for a society based on the world wide web. I think that the communications medium is so important to society that we have to give it a special treatment."

Representative Edward Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who arranged the hearing, was among the chief sponsors of a legislative proposal last year that would put net neutrality into law.

Anne Broache writes for CNET News.com.