Sir Tim turns the tables
Rory Cellan-Jones | 10:55 UK time, Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Our interview with the web's creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee threw up some interesting news lines. The man asked by the broadband minister to sort out the row over net neutrality told us progress was slow - and made clear where he stood.
While he understands the need for the ISPs to manage the traffic on their networks, he is adamant that they should not be allowed to discriminate between different content providers. That would be like the days when AOL controlled your internet experience, he said, and it would end innovation online.
So it's clear that Sir Tim is not exactly a neutral arbitrator - he thinks net neutrality is a vital principle which must be defended. The big ISPs may not be too happy about that - though they will feel much warmer about his criticisms of the Digital Economy Act, which they have delayed through a judicial review.
At the end of our interview, Sir Tim turned the tables, asking for the right to interview me. He asked some tough questions about the BBC's ability to compete in the information age, and when he would be able to use the iPlayer in the United States.
Some of what he asked was way above my paygrade and I should stress I had no insider information and I was making it up as I went along. But I promised in the spirit of openness and transparency to put his interview online. Here it is:
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
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