“The Internet is not breaking up … but it is under stress

About two decades ago, in a one page op-ed, Clyde Wayne wrote, “Warfare on the digital commons invites more regulation and adds to a deteriorating and antiquated Internet. Splintering, though it will be criticized as Balkanization, increases our options and wealth.” Though inadequately reasoned, “balkanisation” became a popular import in tech policy debates, with commentators voicing anxieties around censorship and surveillance. These fears have surfaced in policy debates over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So, is the Internet really breaking up as a global network?

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