New York Times: Three Internets and America’s May Not Be Best

As nations apply regulations that limit the internet, some protecting and others invading privacy, the information highway may fragment. “All signs point to a future with three internets,” notes an opinion essay written by the New York Times editorial board. “But all three spheres — Europe, America and China — are generating sets of rules, regulations and norms that are beginning to rub up against one another. What’s more, the actual physical location of data has increasingly become separated by region, with data confined to data centers inside the borders of countries with data localization laws.” China maintains tight controls over the internet and improves surveillance capabilities. European Union regulations emphasize privacy. In addition to regulations, privately owned infrastructure, technical glitches, an increasing number of platforms, and intense competition and eagerness of companies to enter markets like China’s encourage localization and fragmentation. Internet restrictions encourage self-censorship, the essay concludes, and that trend will discourage use, connections, innovation and trust. – YaleGlobal