This internet, on the ground

TL;DR

The paper argues that the concentration of internet control in a few private organizations poses risks, and proposes a localist approach with municipal-scale internets to improve governance and stability.

Contribution

It introduces a novel localist governance model advocating for small, interoperable municipal internets to address centralization issues.

Findings

Highlights risks of current control points for global internet stability

Proposes a scalable, interoperable local governance framework

Suggests potential for increased resilience and diversity

Abstract

The internet's key points of global control lie in the hands of a few people, primarily private organizations based in the United States. These control points, as they exist today, raise structural risks to the global internet's long-term stability. I argue: the problem isn't that these control points exist, it's that there is no popular governance over them. I advocate for a localist approach to internet governance: small internets deployed on municipal scales, interoperating selectively, carefully, with this internet and one another.