Periodizing the History of the Internet

John G. Palfrey, Jr., Harvard Law School, has published Four Phases of Internet Regulation, in volume 77 of Social Research (Fall 2010). Here is the abstract.

The four phases of Internet regulation are the “open Internet” period, from the network’s birth through about 2000; “access denied,” through about 2005; “access controlled,” through the present day (2010); and “access contested,” the phase into which we are entering.

In this article, I describe the role of technology and its use in limiting access to knowledge during four phases of development of the Internet. The possibilities associated with how people are using technology to strengthen democracies around the world make up an equally important part of the story. The four phases of Internet regulation are the “open Internet” period, from the network’s birth through about 2000; “access denied,” through about 2005; “access controlled,” through the present day (2010); and “access contested,” the phase into which we are entering.

 

 

Download the article from SSRN at the link.