politics 117
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Politics 117. The regulation of the Internet. Did Al Gore invent the Internet?. Is it a corporation? Is it an anarchist collective? Is it a non-profit? Is it a government agency? Is it a bunch of computers? Is it a lot of wires? . What is the Internet anyway?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Politics 117
The regulation of the Internet
Did Al Gore invent the Internet?
What is the Internet anyway?
• Is it a corporation?• Is it an anarchist
collective? • Is it a non-profit?• Is it a government
agency?• Is it a bunch of
computers?• Is it a lot of wires?
• “The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide.”
• Section 230(e)(1) of the Communications Act:– “(1) INTERNET—The term ‘Internet’ means the
international computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data networks.”
Advanced Research Projects Agency, 1958
• Created within the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military, at least in theory
• In practice ARPA researchers did whatever they wanted, which sometimes had little to do with military goals
The Manchester Mark I (above)
Big ugly computers and the geeks who loved them
Eniac
• Time sharing: Networks in which many people can use a computer system simultaneously
• Batch processing: One person takes a batch of programs and runs them through a computer
Larry Roberts’ ARPAnet plan
AT&T’s John DeButts
AT&T: the regulated monopoly, circa 1965
• Completely dominates telephony; few independents left
• Offers POTS (plain old telephone service)
• Discourages and blocks technological advances not controlled by AT&T
• Section 202 of the Communications Act:– It shall be unlawful for any common carrier to
make unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services for or in connection with like communications service, directly or indirectly, by any means or device, or to make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, class of persons, or locality . . . “
AT&T cases before FCC, 1948-1968
• Hush-A-Phone (1948-1956): Court rules customers can attach Hush-A-Phones to their phones
• Carterfone (1968): FCC rules that public can connect their own two way radio equipment, or other phone accessories, to their telephones
The Rand Corporation
• Founded in 1946• Think tank for the Air
Force• Most famous resident:
Herman Kahn, author of On Thermonuclear War
Paul Baran
Davies concept of “packet switching”
• Digital messages divided up into “packets”
• Move through a set of “nodes”
• Would be part of British government’s “modernization” plan
• But rejected by the British post office
Davies’ node model for Britain
Computers, circa 1966; LGP-30 (above); PDP-1 (right above); Honeywell DDP-516 (right below), which would be used as Interface Message Processors (IMPs)
Leonard Kleinrock with the first node of the ARPANET in 1970, an SDS-7 at the Stanford Research Institute (left) connected to a Sigma-7 (below) at UCLA
• The Internet is a set of protocols for moving digital data from one point to another
• A protocol is a set of rules for correct behavior
• Protocols of diplomacy:– Proper greeting– Establish recognition– Standard formats for
exchanging information– Standard formats for
agreements or agreeing on what has or has not been decided
– Standard procedures for concluding the meeting
– Proper exit
Internet protocols• Telnet: Rules for interacting
with a computer through a teletype machine or terminal
• SMTP: Rules for sending email• POP3: Rules for receiving email• FTP: File Transfer Protocol:
rules for sending and receiving files
• HTTP: Allows you to view Web pages
• TCP/IP: Super rules for sending “packets” through different networks
File Transfer Protocol and Telnet
1971, ARPANET demonstrated at Washington, DC
• Viewers could use the PARRY chatterbot program
THX-1138, 1971
• SENDMSG• READMAIL• NAME@MACHINE
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
• TCP: Transmission Control Protocol, is the de facto standard for sending information across the Internet
• Your data packets have to conform to TCP standards
• IP: assigns Internet Protocol numbers to hosts
AT&T consent decree, 1956
• To stop anti-trust suit, AT&T restricts its activities to those related to running the national telephone system, and special projects for the federal government.
AT&T opens first trans-Atlantic telephone cable
Unix operating system, 1969
• Leased to the public, cheap, to comply with 1956 Consent Decree
• No manual• No tech support• No upgrades• No returns• Lots of luck
Internic to Icann• Agencies in charge of
domain names and numbers
• Created the edu, gov, mil, com, org, and net conventions
• ICANN now run by the Department of Commerce
Internet privatized in 1995
• 1991: National Science Foundation issues “Project Development Plan”
• 1991: Al Gore’s High Performance Computing Act jump starts ISP technology
• 1995: NSF releases Internet to the public