Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the internet, has written to a US House Committee working on telecoms legislation in a bid to protect the neutrality of the internet.

Submitting a letter because he was unable to attend in person, Cerf called for controls over broadband providers.

"As we move to a broadband environment and eliminate century-old non-discrimination requirements, a lightweight but enforceable neutrality rule is needed to ensure that the internet continues to thrive," he wrote.

"Telephone companies cannot tell consumers who they can call, and network operators should not dictate what people can do online."

Cerf said that the internet was built as a decentralised network that made it possible for anyone to connect, leading to an "explosion of offerings that might never have evolved had central control of the network been required by design".

His comments have been posted by his employer, Google, on the company's blog.