Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World

The Internet's Challenge to Governmental Rule is a thought-provoking book that delves into the fascinating story of the Net's challenge to governmental rule in the 1990s.

Written by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, this book provides an in-depth look at how governments around the world have responded to the Internet's rapid growth and its potential to liberate us from government, borders, and even our physical selves. Through engaging stories of Google's struggles with the French government and Yahoo's capitulation to the Chinese regime, the authors reveal how governments have asserted their power to direct the future of the Internet.

They also explore how the European Union sets privacy standards on the Net for the entire world and how eBay has learned to trust the FBI in its struggles with fraud. Despite the initial vision of a borderless, government-free Internet, the authors argue that the destiny of the Internet over the next decades will reflect the interests of powerful nations and the conflicts within and between them.

While acknowledging the attractions of the earliest visions of the Internet, they describe the new order and its surprising virtues and unavoidable vices. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex relationship between governments and the Internet.

It provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the Net as it continues to evolve and shape our world.