The Economist is running a fascinating story on the Internet itself. The main pitch is that the Internet was a great global unifier in its early years. But now that governments and law enforcement agencies have caught on to the Internet's power and ability to transcend any boundary, be it physical, geographical or legal, they are increasingly trying to control it. The result is a strong risk of seeing the Internet splintered and as such becoming less effective as a planetary communication tool, with less innovation and less user benefit and choice.

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