This inspirational book provides the backstory to current attempts by states and corporations to control the Internet. It explains key issues such as privacy, net neutrality and copyright in a way that is accessible to non-experts, as well as providing a clear, authoritative context for academic study.

The Closing of the Net explains:

Why apps are never 'free', and how data profiling got into politicsHow the entertainment industries went head-to-head with Internet companies over online copyrightWhy we got the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and why Europe has stronger privacy laws than the USHow post-Snowden surveillance politics is embedded in data retention lawWhy net neutrality mattersHow cloud service Megaupload was brought down

Monica Horten's compelling account of these issues concludes with an outline of the risks we face in the future if monitoring and blocking of the Internet becomes the norm. And the results are chilling. This book is a must-read for all followers of cyber-policy, and is suitable for courses addressing digital media and society, communications policy, Internet and copyright law.

Monica Horten is a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She served as an independent expert on the Council of Europe's committee of experts on cross-border flow of Internet traffic and Internet freedom.

Acknowledgements

Acronyms and Abbreviations

1 Power and the Internet

2 Private Lives, Public Policy

3 The PRISM Agenda

4 Surveillance Liabilities

5 Not Neutrality Under Pressure

6 Filtering Policy

7 The Cooperation Agenda

8 Blocking Judgements

9 A Dark Cloud

10 Closing Pressures

Notes

References

Index