Four Internets: Data, Geopolitics, and the Governance of Cyberspace

The Internet has become a staple of modern civilized life, now as vital a utility as electricity. But despite its growing influence, the Internet isn't as stable as it might seem; rather, it can be best thought of as a network of networks reliant on developing technical and social measures to function, including hardware, software, standards, and protocols. As millions of new internet users sign on each year, governing bodies need to balance evolving social ideas surrounding internet use against shifting political pressures on internet governance--or risk disconnection.

Four Internets offers a revelatory new approach for conceptualizing the Internet and understanding the sometimes rival values that drive its governance and stability. Four Internets contends that the apparently monolithic "Internet" is in fact maintained by four distinct value systems--the Silicon Valley Open Internet, the Brussels Bourgeois Internet, the DC Commercial Internet, and the Beijing Paternal Internet--competing to determine the future directions of internet affordances for freedom, innovation, security, and human rights. Starting with an analysis of the original vision of an "Open Internet," the book outlines challenges facing this vision and the subsequent rise of other internets popularized through political and monetary machinations. It then unravels how tensions between these internets play out across politics, economics, and technology, and offers perspectives on potential new internets that might arise from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and smart cities. The book closes with an evaluation of whether all these models can continue to co-exist--and what might happen if any fall away.

Visionary and accessible, Four Internets lends readers the confidence to believe in a diverse yet resilient Internet through a deeper understanding of this everyday commodity.

Kieron O'Hara is a philosopher and computer scientist who researches the social and political effects of technology, specialising in the World Wide Web. His particular interests are in privacy, trust, and digital modernity. He has also written extensively on conservatism and the British Conservative Party. He is an Emeritus Fellow at the University of Southampton.

Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng, is Regius Professor of Computer Science, Associate Vice President of International Engagement, and Executive Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton. She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year's Honours list, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. Dame Wendy was co-chair of the UK government's AI Review and the first Skills Champion for AI in the UK. In May 2020, she was appointed as Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute and she serves as a fellow of the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center.

Vinton Cerf is the Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist of Google, LLC.