The essay topic question is: Is Google’s monopolization of search the same potential threat to social welfare as Microsoft’s monopoly of PC operating systems?
Chapter 2
Regulating and Governing
the Internet
History of the Internet (1 of 2)
• Packet switching
– Breaks messages into fixed-sized units or packages
and labels each package with its origin and
destination
• ARPANET
• Milnet
• NSFNET
History of the Internet (2 of 2)
• Interaction between ARPANET and MILNET =
the Internet
• The term “Internet” first used in 1974
• Commercialization and global diffusion during
1980s and 1990s
Current Architecture
• TCP/IP
– Enables complete interoperability
• Internet Protocol (IP) establishes unique
numeric address
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) enables
network communications
Net Neutrality
• Internet’s Original Design Principle
– End-to-end
• Net neutrality means that Internet Service
Providers and Telecom companies are
required to treat every form of data equally.
– No fast lanes or tolls
World Wide Web
• Invented by Tim Berners-Lee
• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
– Allows for hyperlinks, the essence of the Web
• Net Browsers
– From Netscape to Google’s Chrome
Gatekeepers and Search Engines
• Browsers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs),
Portals
• Politics of Search Engines
– Google’s dominance
– Impartiality issues
Social Networking
• MySpace, Facebook, Buzz, Twitter
• Yik Yak’s Anonymity
• Facebook
– Controversial “real name” principle
• Accountability Issues
Regulating the Net
• The Invisible Hand
– Let the market fix problems like spam
• The Visible Hand
– Extensive government regulations
• The Power of Code
Internet Governance
• World Wide Web Consortium
• Internet Engineering Task Force
• Domain Name System
– Administered by Network Solutions International
(NSI)
– Hierarchical system divided into separate domains