Japan.com: Government and the Promise of the Internet Society

As the Internet developed, emerging out of the uniquely scientific and strategic communications environments of university research laboratories and the military, it was not altogether clear that this new technology had a great deal of potential. Governments generally viewed the Internet as an adjunct of the scientific enterprise; very few people saw much general or public use. By the early 1990s, that had changed. The Internet spread beyond and through university campuses. Government departments discovered the potential for internal communications. And, most critically, the private sector came to the realization that this odd combination of computer and telecommunications technologies might well have commercial applications. Governments had the potential to speed up the development of the Internet, by investing in technological infrastructure, training and scientific development. They also all had regulations, procedures, licensing requirements and the like which had not anticipated the development of the Internet. By the late 1990s, it had become increasingly clear that the interface of government and technology would play a critical role in determining the role and impact of the Internet within specific societies. What would be determined on a country by country basis was the degree to which the government’s role would be constructive or constraining.