“One of the more remarkable features of the computer network on which much of the world has come to rely is that nobody owns it. That does not mean, however, that no one controls it.”
AMY HARMON,NEW YORK TIMES, 1998
One of the unique things about the Internet is that no one owns it. But that hasn’t stopped some corporations from trying to control it. Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which overhauled the nation’s communications regulations, most regional and long-distance phone companies and cable operators have competed against one another to provide connections to the Internet. However, there is more to controlling the Internet than being the service provider for it. Companies have realized the potential of dominating the Internet business through search engines, software, social networking, and providing access to content, all in order to sell the essential devices that display the content, and/or to amass users who become an audience for advertising.
Ownership and control of the Internet is connected to three Internet issues that command much public attention: the security of personal and private information, the appropriateness of online materials, and the accessibility and the openness of the Internet. Important questions have been raised: Should personal or sensitive government information be private, or should the Internet be an enormous public record? Should the Internet be a completely open forum, or should certain types of communications be limited or prohibited? Should all people have equal access to the Internet, or should it be available only to those who can afford it? With each of these issues there have been heated debates, but no easy resolutions.