The Splinternet

Abstract

My thesis is that the internet is being Balkanized: that we are returning to walled gardens. Some of those walled gardens are run by private companies, but increasingly, they are being created by drawing national boundaries around the internet. I think this phenomenon is already far along, and there are powerful forces behind it. It extends beyond software; we are increasingly building different hardware networks, and may ultimately end up with entirely separate Internets. The Balkanization of the internet is a bad thing and that we should stop it if we can. I offer some ideas that might help.