Internet Fragmentation:
An Explainer
Advocate to resist Internet fragmentation, and uphold the open, global Internet.
The Internet is a vital resource that allows us to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create with anyone, anywhere. It is the backbone of the world economy. How we shape Internet-related policy could have a profound effect on how the Internet functions for generations to come.
Despite good intentions, decision-makers in government and industry are increasingly making decisions that have the potential to hurt the open, global Internet.
Any policy or decision that undermines the open, global, interoperable nature of the Internet—the very attributes that have empowered people everywhere to benefit from it—contributes to fragmenting the Internet. Instead of the same global, seamless Internet that the world now relies on and benefits from, we could end up with a splintered, degraded version of the Internet that is unrecognizable to the one we have today. One where ordinary people are not able to create, share, and connect freely.
The Internet Society has developed this explainer to help people understand what Internet fragmentation means. It includes a range of examples of policies and decisions that could undermine the open, global Internet, or are already doing that. We’ve grouped them by type, to help you explore some characteristics of decisions and policies. They’re also organized by region, although many of these regional threats also have global impact. Use it to compare policies from across the world, draw parallels between resources, see how others have advocated against Internet fragmentation—and help you do that, too.
We need your help.
If the Internet gets fragmented, access to resources, websites, platforms, and services will depend on who and where we are. Internet Society works to defend the Internet from this splintering. Make a donation to support our work, and together we can achieve our vision of an Internet that is more global, not less.