The Internet began as a Pentagon-funded project called ARPANET, a network linking computers in some American universities and government agencies.
Eventually, it was opened up to become the world wide web, connecting everything from computers and mobile phones to tablets and video game consoles.
No one government fully controls the Internet, but the US does regulate some protocols. Faced with pressures, it is now considering relinquishing some of it to global stakeholders.
Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan reports.
