Internet

The Internet is "a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies".

They use the Internet Protocol to allow information to flow across these diverse technologies.

Key features of the Internet include:

  • the ability to route around blockages or censorship, as it is an open network
  • the open nature of the technology, which is not owned by anyone, including
    • the ability to build technology on top the Internet without permission
    • the resulting high levels of innovation from these features
  • the ability of end users to cheaply receive, publish and distribute information

For ORG, disputes over the future of Internet create many of the policy problems we deal with, including privacy problems, attempts to limit free speech on the Internet, intellectual property disputes and Internet governance issues.