HACKER Q&A
📣 tavro

Are ISPs "evil" and who runs the Internet?


I came across this "Who Runs the Internet" graphic (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Who-Runs-the-Internet-graphic.png) when planning a blog post and it got me thinking about the role of internet service providers.

Obviously this is a highly simplified question. Internet governance is a complex topic, but from your experience and perspective, are ISPs "evil"? Who really has the power over the Internet?

  👤 runjake Accepted Answer ✓
Asking the question "Are ISPs evil" isn't useful. Asking "What motivates ISPs?" is.

Caveat: there are a lot of non-ISP entities in that diagram, and they are often more motivated by control and political power than direct profit. But, I'm going to assume you really do mean ISPs.

The answer:

ISPs are driven by profit and the need to provide acceptable service to their customers.

"Acceptable" being defined as "enough so that they don't quit being customers".

Sometimes, an upstart ISP will show up and offer exceptional service at remarkable rates. However, they often fail, run out of funds, or are acquired by an equity firm or a larger ISP. At that point, their focus is shifted back to profit and delivering only acceptable service.