Vint Cerf, who can fairly be described as one of the godfathers of Internet has endorsed Barack Obama in the US presidential race, saying that his decision is swayed by Obama’s stance on net neutrality – the question of whether content providers should be charged more for different content by the “pipe” providers.
Extracts:
We believe that the Internet should remain an open environment. It’s vital to innovation. Companies like Google, and Yahoo, and eBay, and Amazon, and Skype and so on, got their start without having to get permission from any ISP or any broadband provider to offer services. They simply acquired access to the internet, put their services up and then made them available to the general public.
We think that’s the best way for the Internet to evolve and I’m pleased to say that in the upcoming presidential elections, the two candidates have rather different views of this particular matter. Senator Obama in particular sees things the way I do which is that the Net should remain open, fully accessible and providing access on a non-discriminatory basis to the people who want to offer new services on the network.
2 Comments
poojitha
yeah, i agree with you guys, totally
Sanjana Hattotuwa
As a scientist I would have expected a more rigorous critique of Obama’s avowed partiality to Cerf’s notion of net neutrality. What empirical evidence is there to believe that Obama’s rhetoric is anything more than that?
Had I a vote, I would have voted Obama.
But unless we critically scrutinise policies, ideas and statements of the politicians we like the most, I don’t think we can hold accountable those we don’t.
Rethinking Sri Lanka’s Data Centre Hub Ambition
The idea of turning Sri Lanka into a regional data centre hub is an attractive one, particularly in the context of growing global demand for digital infrastructure and AI-driven services. However, it raises important economic questions, especially whether this is a viable and high-return investment strategy for a small, fiscally constrained economy like Sri Lanka.
Nepal’s digital crossroads: building a transparent data governance framework
Nepal’s evolving digital landscape highlights a growing tension between constitutional guarantees of privacy and access to information, and a fragmented, outdated data governance framework. In a recent article published in Republica on March 17, 2026, Avash Mainali, Country Researcher for Nepal for LIRNEasia’s D4D Asia project, argues that while the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Policy, 2082 (2025), marks a positive step, its impact will depend on whether it can move beyond aspirational language to enforceable rights.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya Shares Insights on AI and Labour at ISLE Conference 2026
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming labour markets worldwide. In the Global South, however, these changes are unfolding unevenly, shaped by labour markets defined by high levels of informality, uneven social protection, and large skills gaps.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific