American media famously dominated the globe for most of the 20th century. But like a lot of things in the last decade or so, U.S. cultural imperialism has been lagging a bit. A Story in today’s issue of Le Monde discusses the internet fortunes built by American companies like Google and Facebook – and the future.
“The geopolitics of the Internet broke open during the first half of December at an international conference in Dubai convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN affiliate agency with 193 national members. 
At these meetings, states (thronged by corporate advisors) forge agreements to enable international communications via cables and satellites. These gatherings, however boring and bureaucratic, are crucial because of the enormous importance of networks in the operation of the transnational political economy. Continue reading “The decline of American (internet) empire?”