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WhytheInternetMatterstoYouBTW-Thereisno“Internet”

ScottBradner2018-08-04

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Agenda•  TelecomRegulationsforContext•  InternetHistory•  KeyInternetTechnologyFeatures•  InternetControl•  TechnologyStandards•  NetworkNeutrality•  WhatMadetheInternettheInternet?•  WhatistheInternet?(Ifthereisone?)

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TelecomRegulation/Governance(forcontext)

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TelecomRegulationInternational•  Itstartedwiththetelegraph•  In186520EuropeangovernmentrepresentativesgatheredinParisAgreedtoanInternationalTelegraphConvention

GovernedinterconnectionbetweennationaltelegraphcompaniesAlmostallprocess–1technicalparagraphDefinedfees,policiesandprocedures

CreatedInternationalTelegraphUnion(ITU)tomaintainagreement

EvolvedintoInternationalTelecommunicationsUnion(ITU)Creates&maintainsstandards&regulationsfortelephone

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BlockBasedonContent•  Article20

TheHighcontractingPartiesreservetheabilitytostopanyprivatecommunicationthatwouldappeartoendangerthesecurityoftheState,orwouldbeviolatingthelawsofthecountry,thepublicorderormoralstandards/values,andshallimmediatelynotifytheadministrationofthecountryoforigin.

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Commoncarriage•  “Anymanundertakingforhiretocarrythegoodsofallpersonsindifferently...is...acommoncarrier.”(Gisbournv.Hurst–LondonCourt-1710)

•  MustserveallcustomersequallyIncludingnotrefusingcustomers

•  StartedwithfreightcarriersE.g.,truckingcompanies,railroads,buslines,airlines,publicutilities,et

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CommoncarriageforUStelecom•  AT&Tagreedtobecomearegulatedmonopoly1913

Agreedtobeacommoncarrierfortelephoneservice•  CommunicationsActof1934FCCregulatoryauthorityovertelecom

•  CommunicationsActof1996-TitleIIconcernscommoncarriageCoverstelephonecompaniesVerydetailedrules

E.g.over700individualregulationsAccounting,recordkeeping,interconnections,numbering,universalservice,infrastructuresharing,tariffs,newline,discontinuingservice,rateofreturn,accesscharges….

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TheInternetHistory

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ThePre-Internet•  1957:Sputnik•  1958:AdvancedResearchProjectAgency-DoD•  1962:PaulBaran:packetnetworks/redundantlinksandforwardingdevices(routers)Publicizetechnology(topreventafirststrike)

•  1966:ARPAallocates$1MtobuildARPANETToenableremoteaccesstoARPA-fundedcomputers

•  1969:1st4hosts•  1970:9hosts(includingHarvard)•  1980:200hosts(international)

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TheBeginningoftheInternet•  1972:LouisPouzindesignedtheCYCLADESnetwork

Puredatagram(packet),nodeliveryassumptionsReliabilitytheresponsibilityoftheendnodes–“e2e”

•  1974:VintCerf&BobKahn:1stversionofTCP/IPBenefitedfromPouzin’sconcepts

•  1983:ARPANETswitchestoTCP/IPActualstartoftheInternet(networkofnetworks)

10Pouzin Cerf Kahn

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InternetArchitecture•  Interconnectedindependent(non-state)networks•  Pair-wiseinterconnectiondecisions

Nocentralplanningorinterconnectionregulations•  Nocentralcontrol&littlecoordinationarerequired

ProtocolparametersFieldsinprotocolsthatneedtobeinsync–valueunimportant

BulkIPaddressassignmentsActualassignments&assignmentpolicydoneregionally

MaintainDNSrootzonefileSetofpointerstoserversforTLDs(e.g..com,.company,.fr)

•  AbovefunctionsdonebytheIANAInternetAssignedNumbersAuthority

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Postel

TheTechnology•  Packets(vscircuits)•  Runoverexistingnetworks(vspurpose-builtnetwork)•  NoQoSguarantees(vsper-calldedicatedcapacity)•  Noassumptionsofunderlyingnetworkquality(vs5-9sservicereliabilityintelephonenetwork)Packetscanbereordered,duplicatedordroppedEndsystemsresponsibleforreliability&security,ifwanted

•  End-to-endmodel(e2e)networkis“stupid”-applicationagnosticVs.“IntelligentNetwork”–applicationsareinthenetwork

Exception:touchtone,whichcanbee2e12Isenberg

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Couldnotpossiblybeofanyuse•  Noguarantees•  Noqualityofservice•  Nosecurity•  Nocarrierrequirement(wherethecarrierprovidesbothconnectionsandapplications)Thus,nobusinessmodel

•  IBM,AT&Tetc.,saidthattheInternetwouldnotwork•  Sothey,andtheregulators,ignoredit

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Control?•  ThereisnocontrolofInternet

Applications,Serviceproviders,Content,orDevices

•  TheInternet(asweknowit)couldnothavehappenediftherehadbeensuchcontrol

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Control,contd.

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Innovation

Innovation

InnovationControl

Internet:TheAnti-Network•  Everythingthatthetelephonenetworkwasnot

FlexibleEnablingPlatformforinnovationDistributedinnovationGenerativeDistributedauthority(mostly)internationallyseamless(mostly)unregulated/ungoverned

Exceptionsinsomecountries–e.g.China,England,…

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GivingAwaytheInternet?•  IANAfunctionwasrunbyICANN,aprivatemultistakeholderorganizationunderacontractwiththeU.S.governmentsince1998Justthethreetechnicalcoordinationfunctions–nothingmore(i.e.,nogovernance)

•  U.S.GovernmentannouncedinMach2014thatitwasreadytoletthecontractexpireandletICANNgoitaloneiftheInternetcommunitywouldsupporttheidea–letcontractlapseinOct2016

•  SomeinCongresssawthisas‘givingawaytheInternet’withapotentialto‘destroyourFirstAmendmentrightsontheInternet’

•  NTIAaskedinJune2018ifthisshouldbereversed17

Cruz

WhatthisPointsOut•  ThereisnooneandnoorganizationthatrunstheInternet

•  Thereisno“Internetgovernance”asathing•  TheInternetistheresultofmillionsofcooperatingpeopleandorganizationsE.g.theIANAeditstherootzone,whichpointstothe.edunameserver,EDUCAUSErunsthe.edunameserverswhichpointtototheHarvardnameservers,whichprovideinformationaboutcomputersatHarvardandtosubdomannameservers,e.g.,dfci.harvard.eduwhichprovideinformationoncomputersatDana-FarberCancerInstitute

•  Allthatbindstheseentitiestogetheraretechnicalstandards

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InternetTechnicalStandards•  AllimportantInternettechnicalstandardscomefromtheIETForW3CInternetEngineeringTaskForceWorldWideWebConsortium

•  Openvoluntarystandardsorganizationsthatproduceopenvoluntarystandards

•  Participantsdrivento‘dowhat’sright’•  ITU,ontheotherhand,doeswhatitsmemberstatesthinkisrightManyintheITUstillthinktheInternetdoesnotwork,oratleast,cannotcontinuetolooklikeitworks,&wanttofixitCreatestechnicalstandardsthatareignored(e.g.NGN)

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•  IETF&W3Ctechnicalstandardstendtobedisruptionenablerse.g.,VoiceoverIP(VoIP)

Enabledhundredsof“overthetop”telephonecompaniesSlowedabitbyFCCrulingthatsomerulesapply(notmany)

WipedoutinternationaltelephonesettlementsHugeimpactonpoorcountries

e.g.,supportforstreamingaudio&videoEnabled(illegal)music&moviesharingHugeimpactonmusicindustry

e.g.,WorldWideWeb&blogsEnabledanyonetobeapublisherHugeimpactonpublishingindustry(asknewspapers)Facilitated“fakenews”

TechnicalStandards,contd.

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LimitationonInnovation•  ThepoweroftheInternetisonlyrealizediftheusersarefreetousetheInternetastheywanttoCreate&usenewapplicationsCreatenewcontent&sharethatcontentUsewhateverdevicestheywanttoonthenetwork

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1921

FCCFourPrinciples•  FCChasbeentryingtorequireISPsfollow4principlesthroughmultiplerulemakingsovermanyyears1.  consumersareentitledtoaccessthelawfulInternet

contentoftheirchoice2.  consumersareentitledtorunapplicationsanduse

servicesoftheirchoice,subjecttotheneedsoflawenforcement

3.  consumersareentitledtoconnecttheirchoiceoflegaldevicesthatdonotharmthenetwork

4.  consumersareentitledtocompetitionamongnetworkproviders,applicationandserviceproviders,andcontentproviders

•  Blockedbythecourtseachtime22

Sept2005

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ISPsUnderTitleII•  InFebruary2015theFCCreclassifiedISPsasbeingsubjecttoTitleII

•  Butsaidthattheywouldforbear(notenforce)mostoftheTitleIIrulesthatgoverntelephoneservices–justenforcingthosethatwouldensureaneutralnetwork

•  ThecarrierssuedbutthistimetheFCCwon•  Manyincongressdidnotlikeit–theyclaimedthatregulationswoulddestroytheInternetButtheywereonlylookingatthecarriersnotthe$trillionsofbusiness&innovationoverthe‘Net

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ISPsNotUnderTitleII•  InDecember2017theFCC(undernewleadership)repealedreclassificationofISPsasbeingsubjecttoTitleII-the“RestoringInternetFreedomOrder”

•  Afterreceivingandignoringover21millioncommentsonproposalManycommentsfrombots,butmillionsfrompeople

BotswantedtorepealTitleIIorder,humanswantedtokeepitBothignoredbyFCCmajority

•  Verywidespreadpublicoppositiontorepeal•  Congresstried&failedtorejectnewFCCregulation•  ManystateshavepassedtheirownNNlaws

Theywillbesued,FCCincludedpreemptioninnewregulation24

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Today•  Thereisno“Internetgovernance”attheInternationallevelThoughmanycountrieswouldliketoseelots

•  Thereisno“Internetgovernance”attheU.S.levelOtherthantheFCCrulesthatISPshavetobetransparent

•  TheInternetexistsbycooperationnotcontrol•  Abitofutopia?--canitlast?

ThelackofInternetgovernancehaslastedsincethe1980’sanditiswhatcreatedtheInternetoftoday

•  Butthatcouldallchangetomorrow(literally)

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governance

InternetTechnologyWhatistheInternet?

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WhatMadetheInternettheInternet•  Theunderlyingtechnologydidnotrequirethatthecompanythatprovidedconnectivity(anISP)alsoprovideservices

•  AnditdidnotmakeiteasyforaISPtoforcethecustomertousetheISP’sservicesPossiblebutnoteasy(atthestart,easiernow)

•  Thearchitecturedidnotincludechokepoints1000sofpair-wiseinterconnections–no“backbone”

•  ISPsduringtheexpansionwereISPs(providersofInternetconnectivity)notcarriers(providersofcontentorservices)

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CodeisLaw•  Thetechnologylimitswhatrulescanbeapplied•  e.g.nosinglefilterpoint,nosinglebackbone•  U.S.governmenttried:CommunicationsDecencyAct

Userswererequiredtoensuretheirmessagescouldnotbeseenbysomeoneunder18ifthematerialcouldbe“harmful”NottechnicallypossibleRuledunconstitutional(notbecauseitwasimpossible)Butbecauseanotherapproachwouldbemoreeffectiveandwouldnotlimit1stamendmentrightstospeakontheInternet

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1995

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Upsides&Downsides•  Innovationatthespeedoflight•  Failuresalmostasfastbutdonothavewidespreadimpact

•  Changedjustaboutallcommunicationstechnology•  Changedjustaboutallbusinessmodels•  Vectorforthreateningsociety

Soapboxfordemagogues&conspiracytheorists

•  Enablingnon-proximalcommunitiesBinddispersedcommunitiesCreatecommunitiesthatsurviveoninternalfeed-back

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Result•  Theuserswereincharge

Notthesuppliers

•  e.g.,thewebspreadlikewildfirebecausenopermissionwasneededVerydifferentresultthanifallinnovationwascontrolledbythecarrierorregulators

•  SelforganizingcommunicationsgroupInuits&shipmodelstoISIS&theArabSpringStudentprotestsinBangladeshforaweek

•  Uncontrolled&unpredictableimpact,uncontrolled&unpredictablecontent

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Keepinmind•  Thereisno“Internet”

Inthecontextofthisworkshop

•  TheInternetitselfislikethetelephonenetwork,communicationssupportorthehighwaysystem,transportsupportAtleastfornow–theremovalofnetworkneutralitymaychangethatintime

•  Whatpeoplerefertowhensaying“theInternet”istheapplications(socialmedia,websites,VoIP)thatrunoverthecommunicationsmechanism

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Thanksforlistening&haveaproductiveworkshop

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