Zócalo Public Square

In the last 20 years, the Internet has transformed the way we live, easing communication, speeding connections, spreading information, and spurring activism. But its power has prompted governments and corporations to seek to control its uses and limit access. If they succeed, it wouldn’t be the first time a new technology has revolutionized the world before being clamped down. From telephones to radio to television, information mediums have long been consolidated and regulated, often in ways that limit how we communicate and connect. Could the Internet be next, and what would it mean for our lives, our jobs, and our economy? Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu, author of The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, visited Zócalo to trace the century-long struggle between flowing information and corporate control, and to ask whether the Internet will stay free.