Internet Will Split Into Chinese-Led and US-Led Versions Within the Next Decade, Says Eric Schmidt

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Internet Will Split Into Chinese-Led and US-Led Versions Within the Next Decade, Says Eric Schmidt

By CircleID Reporter
September 21, 2018, 6:38 pm PDT Views: 13,921 Add Comment

Speaking at a private event hosted by Village Global VC, tech luminary and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt predicted that the internet will split into Chinese-led and US-led versions by 2028. Lora Kolodny from CNBC reports: “Schmidt shared his thoughts at a private event in San Francisco on Wednesday night convened by investment firm Village Global VC.”

Quoting Schmidt in response to question regarding the chances of the Internet fragmenting over the years:

“I think the most likely scenario now is not a splintering, but rather a bifurcation into a Chinese-led internet and a non-Chinese internet led by America.”

“If you look at China, and I was just there, the scale of the companies that are being built, the services being built, the wealth that is being created is phenomenal. Chinese Internet is a greater percentage of the GDP of China, which is a big number, than the same percentage of the US, which is also a big number.”

The real danger: While China is coming up with fantastic products and services, along comes a government-aligned leadership regime embedded with censorship and controls, says Schmidt: “it’s perfectly possible [many] countries will begin to take on the infrastructure that China has with some loss of freedom.”

By CircleID Reporter — CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.
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