What can internet history teach us?

People involved in the Internet Regulation area have a recurring joke that the field is like being stuck in some form of digital Groundhog Day, in which we are re-living 1997 all over again. This is usually because we get to re-litigate some of the early debates regarding internet regulation all over again after a new technology comes along. As new generations learn about the difficulties of regulation, those of us who saw it firsthand can’t help but tell the younglings, “All this has happened before, and it will all happen again.”

I’m a great believer in trying to categorise eras of internet regulation, because to me it’s clear that some events helped to shape things as they are now, and if we don’t learn from the histories, we’re doomed to repeat them.

1. The Age of Legends: The Pre-Web Era

Long before the World Wide Web transformed how we communicate, work, and live, there existed an era of digital pioneers who laid the foundation for the Internet as we know it today. This period stretched from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. It was a time of innovations, where visionaries and engineers devised systems able to connect computers and build the infrastructure that would eventually support the global internet.

While the story begins with ARPANET in 1969, one of the most important takeaways from the early Web is that it has its roots in defence, with resilience at its heart. This first wide-area computer network was the predecessor of the modern internet, initially connecting just four computers at different universities. As ARPANET grew, so did the need for standardised communication protocols, leading to the development of TCP/IP in 1983. This breakthrough allowed different computer networks to communicate with each other, effectively creating a “network of networks.” Meanwhile, other technologies emerged that would shape online interactions for years to come. USENET, a worldwide distributed discussion system, appeared in 1980, prefiguring many aspects of social media. Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) became popular among computer enthusiasts, allowing users to connect to a central system to exchange messages, share files, and play games.

Email also began to revolutionize communication in academic and research communities. These early digital communities, while small and often specialised. And this is the other main takeaway from this era. The internet as we know it today started mostly as small communities of like-minded people, usually sharing similar libertarian and progressive ideals of the San Francisco Bay area in the US. This US-centric approach is to be continued throughout, but it also cements some founding principles to the internet that are almost impossible to remove.

2. The Web is Born

The culmination of this era is the creation of the World Wide Web in 1989, and the following years constituted a growth of the use of connected technologies in small communities. This is the age of the text browser, the BBS, USENET, and small discussion forums. In this era we see the beginnings of regulatory issues that still plague us to this day. With new communities came new types of problems: you could defame people all over the world. Copyright infringement became a global worry, where people were able to seamlessly replicate digital works with no effort. Cybercime becomes a thing.

So with the brave new communities we get new legal headaches, and it is in this era that we get the first crop of interconnected lawsuits, this is the age of the first intermediary liability cases, a number of lawsuits that would later result in the regulatory systems that we have today.

3. The Early Web

The period from 1994 to 1998 marked a transformative era in internet history, this brief but pivotal time saw the Web transition from an academic curiosity to a global phenomenon, laying the groundwork for the digital revolution that would follow. The introduction of user-friendly web browsers like Mosaic and Netscape Navigator opened up the internet to non-technical users, sparking widespread public interest and adoption. As people began to explore this new digital frontier, entrepreneurs quickly recognised its potential, leading to the birth of many companies that would become household names.

This era witnessed the emergence of several tech giants that continue to shape our digital landscape today. Amazon, founded in 1994 as an online bookstore, would eventually revolutionize e-commerce and cloud computing. Yahoo!, also established in 1994, became one of the first web directories and search engines, helping users navigate the rapidly expanding web. eBay, launched in 1995, pioneered online auctions and peer-to-peer e-commerce. Google, sort of falls here, even though it was founded in 1998.

So this was a time of growth, but also important from a regulatory perspective, as we see the first laws that were drafted as a response to the early headaches of the previous eras. So we see the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the DMCA, the Data Protection Directive, and section 230, just to name a few. It’s astounding just how much action was packed in so little time, but also it’s astounding how long-lasting some of these laws and treaties were.

4. The Dot-com Era

The dot-com era, spanning from 1997 to 2001 (yes, some eras are overlapping), was a period of unprecedented growth, innovation, and ultimately, speculative excess in the history of the internet. This era was characterised by a gold rush mentality as investors, entrepreneurs, and established companies all scrambled to stake their claim in the digital frontier. The rapid proliferation of internet-based companies, many with “.com” in their names, gave rise to the term “dot-com bubble.” During this time, the NASDAQ composite stock market index rose by 400%, fuelled by massive investments in internet-based companies, many of which had yet to turn a profit. The mantra of the day was “get big fast,” with many startups prioritising rapid growth and market share over profitability.

This period also saw significant technological and cultural shifts. The number of internet users worldwide exploded. Napster revolutionised file sharing and challenged traditional music industry models, foreshadowing the digital disruption that would reshape many industries in the coming years. E-commerce and online advertising emerged as major business models. However, the exuberance of the era came to an abrupt end with the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000-2001. Many overvalued startups collapsed, and trillions of dollars in market value were wiped out. Despite the financial turmoil, the dot-com era left an indelible mark on the internet landscape, laying the groundwork for the more mature and robust digital ecosystem that would emerge in its wake.

There are two main features to explore here for Internet regulation. The first is the concept of the over-hype and bubbles, which have plagued later technologies and developments such as blockchain and AI. The second is the rise of another batch of lawsuits which would shape a technology, this in the shape of file-sharing. Napster was quickly shutdown by copyright lawsuits, but the legacy is that file sharing would prove resilient, so much so that it’s still with us.

5. The Golden Age

The period from 2001 to 2013 is definitely the Golden Age of the internet, marking the pinnacle of Web 1.0 and the dawn of Web 2.0. This era was characterized by a surge of innovation, democratisation of content creation, and a prevailing optimism about the internet’s potential to transform society for the better. In the wake of the dot-com crash, the surviving companies and new startups focused on building more sustainable business models and creating value for users. This period saw the rise of blogging platforms like WordPress (2003) and Blogger, which empowered individuals to become content creators and share their thoughts with a global audience. The launch of Wikipedia in 2001 exemplified the era’s collaborative spirit, demonstrating the power of crowdsourcing knowledge on an unprecedented scale.

The Golden Age also witnessed significant technological and legal advancements that shaped the modern web. The introduction of Creative Commons licenses in 2001 provided a flexible framework for sharing and reusing digital content, fostering a culture of openness and collaboration. Mozilla Firefox, released in 2004, challenged Internet Explorer’s dominance and championed open-source principles and web standards. YouTube’s launch in 2005 revolutionized video sharing and consumption, paving the way for user-generated content to become a cornerstone of internet culture. This era saw a growing emphasis on web accessibility and interoperability, with developers and companies increasingly adhering to common standards to ensure a more inclusive and consistent web experience. The prevailing sentiment during this Golden Age was one of boundless possibility – the web was seen as a powerful vehicle for positive change, capable of democratising information, fostering global connections, and driving innovation across all sectors of society.

This is also the period in which we see the rise of social media, beginning around 2008, marked a significant shift in how people interact online and consume content. This era, often associated with Web 2.0, saw platforms like Facebook (founded in 2004) and Twitter (2006) become global phenomena, fundamentally changing how information spreads and how people connect. Instagram (2010) and Pinterest (2010) further expanded the social media landscape, focusing on visual content sharing. The proliferation of smartphones and mobile apps dramatically increased internet accessibility, allowing users to stay connected 24/7. This period also saw the emergence of influencer culture, the spread of viral content, and the growing importance of user-generated content. However, as social media’s influence grew, so did concerns about privacy, data collection, and the spread of misinformation, leading to ongoing debates about the role and responsibility of these platforms in society.

This is also a rather stable era from a regulatory standpoint. While there were a lot of lawsuits, the internet was allowed to grow, based mostly on the regulatory decisions that had taken place already. The main regulatory preoccupation during this age was intermediary liability and the problems caused by user-generated content, with some of the principles being tested.

6. The Dark Age

All Golden Ages must die, and our story takes a dark turn around 2013, where the dreams of the empowering Web die. I’ve written quite a lot about this, probably because I was greatly affected by it as a former true believer of the internet as a power for good. In short, it all turns sour during Gamergate, social media proves to be a curse in many ways, turning normal people into trolls and vile abusers, and the always-connected world turns out to put a mirror to society, enhancing all of our most problematic characteristics.

Social media helps to enhance conspiracy theories, filter bubbles and information dark holes give us Brexit and Trump, and the shiny city on a hill turns out to have been a mirage. This era goes on until 2020.

7. The Pandemic

This episode is its own thing. During 2020-2022 Covid and lockdowns changed the world in ways that we have just begun to realise, but for the purpose of this blog post there are a few interesting things happening. The first is the obvious rise of Zoom and working from home. Forced indoors we all went a bit crazy, and the result is the rise of NFTs, the crypto bubble, and the rise of TikTok. But perhaps the most important takeaway from this era is the fact that we’re all online now.

Perhaps the most profound and lasting impact of this era is the near-universal digitisation of daily life. The pandemic forced even the most tech-resistant individuals and institutions online, from elderly relatives learning to use video calls to traditional businesses pivoting to e-commerce. Education moved online, telemedicine became commonplace, and digital entertainment surged. This mass migration to digital spaces has implications for privacy, digital literacy, and the digital divide, as the internet became not just a convenience but a necessity for participation in society.

As we emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic, it’s clear that many of these changes are here to stay. The internet is no longer just a tool or a pastime – it’s an integral part of how we work, learn, socialize, and navigate the world. This era has accelerated existing trends and birthed new ones, setting the stage for the next phase of internet evolution. The long-term effects of this period on internet culture, digital economies, and online behaviours will likely be studied and debated for years to come.

8. The AI Age

And that brings us to the present. The AI Age? From 2022 we’re living in a different world, and we still don’t know how things will shape. That’s the subject for future and past blog posts, but what seems clear to me is that looking back at the internet history, we can see a few possibilities. I reckon that the ongoing number of AI lawsuits may shape regulatory solutions to come, and that these could last for over 20 years. So whatever happens here could have incredible effects down the line, something that should make everyone involved pay attention.

Concluding

Well, that was a rather longer post than I was expecting. I always note that “may you live in interesting times” is a curse. And boy, are we living though some quite interesting times indeed.

Those who to ignore internet history are doomed to repeat it.