Learning from the Past—Lessons for the Future Internet

At barely 15 years old, the public Internet is already considered indispensable by much of the world's population. Growth has inevitably brought problems of every description to the policy agendas of governments, nonprofits, and industry organizations. Because the Internet was shaped from the bottom up rather than the top down, it has few rules and few institutions to guide its development. Where do we go from here? Is it really possible to have a Net that continues to innovate and serve without the heavy hand of government bureaucracy? Mike Roberts shares some thoughts about the future from his long background in Internet policy.