Is the Internet Dead?

“Fifteen years after its first manifestation as a global, unifying network, [the Internet] has entered its second phase: it appears to be balkanising, torn apart by three separate, but related forces. First, governments are increasingly reasserting their sovereignty. … Second, big IT companies are building their own digital territories, where they set the rules and control or limit connections to other parts of the Internet. Third, network owners would like to treat different types of traffic differently, in effect creating faster and slower lanes on the internet.”