DNS: The Birth of a Modern Internet

Research Question:

How did the creation and prolonged usage of the DNS—Domain Name System—decrease the government’s control over the Internet and contribute to connecting users in a ‘modernized’ Internet?

Sorry, some of the formatting only seems to work for wider aspect ratios! No clue how to fix it :P

Overview

During the late 20th century, the United States reached a new pinnacle for technology—the Internet. First known as ARPANET, the system was small and spanned over a few universities and government buildings. Most of the computers in the world are isolated, with little to no connection with other devices. By 1983, however, this changed. ARPANET is split for the public’s access, the Ethernet is being commercialized, and “the computer” is the Man of the Year, creating countless new ‘users’ on the Internet. With this sudden influx of new connections and places on the Internet, the old system of numbering addresses is failing to adapt, and can no longer scale with the growing addresses of the Internet. By November of the same year, a new system was developed to solve this issue, named the Domain Name System, giving birth to the modern Internet of now. ICANN, with the support of the government, took over the task of managing the DNS, alongside many other facets of the Internet. The development of the Domain Name System (DNS) marked a turning point where the U.S. government transitioned from direct control of ARPANET to just regulatory oversight of a massive communication-address system. This change highlighted the balance between the government’s responsibilities for a secure Internet and the public’s rights to a scalable, interconnected Internet. While the government’s power reduced to a limited control over the growing Internet, the changes they brought with their transition from control to oversight and management shifted a users experience from isolation to connection, catalyzing the further growth of the Internet into an eventual state of inter-connectivity. The creation of the DNS reduced the government’s power by limiting it to a maintenance role with the responsibility of keeping a safe Internet, which connected users through simpler, expandable domains that remained safe and accessible. In doing so, the users social rights to communication and connection are fulfilled.

Thesis

The Internet, once a key piece of the government’s authority, seemed to be slowly changing hands. However, the government put more fingers in the pie, positioning themselves as an overseer and manager of the Internet through the DNS. Incorporating this change allowed them to do more, see more, and end more. At the same time, any citizen was granted access to the Internet as a whole, no longer being stuck in IP-corners of the Internet. Overall, the usage of the DNS has come with a plethora of benefits for citizens, some of them becoming a core right for a modern citizen. The government, through ICANN has therefore developed a responsibility to maintain the “modern Internet” for its citizens–and netizens.

How it Works

The Domain Name System is essentially a dictionary for computers. Every time you type in a website address, the DNS will translate that address into an IP address, which it can easily follow to the server hosting the website. When you type in "neocities.org", for example, your browser will send a DNS request to a DNS server. That server will provide the IP address (clarified further below) needed, which your browser will use to connect to the website you typed in.

Causes

Prior to the DNS, accessing a website relied on the user remembering a list of numbers and periods, also known as an IP address. For example, if someone wanted to access Twitter (if it existed) before the DNS was widely implemented, they would have to type in "192.133.77.0" to their browser, which would then connect to the website. At the time, a solution did exist in the creation of a HOSTS.txt file which would document the names of websites and their IP addresses. This was convenient, but grew unwieldy with more websites. Due to the difficulty of accessing and remembering new websites, the Internet grew in clusters of sorts. Communities would form around certain websites, which would note other relevant IP addresses, creating a bubble of sorts. Later on in the Internet's lifespan, this also allowed for rampant misuse of the Internet for more illegal activities, risking the safety of US citizens. Any illegal activities hosted on the Internet could live in relative anonymity, as only those partaking in the act would know the IP address of the website. This risk and rampant isolation of the Internet's communities required change if the Internet wanted to continue growing.

Solution

In order to solve the inefficiencies of solutions like a HOSTS.txt file, a professor at USC, Paul Mockapetris, proposed the architecture of the DNS in 1983, before launching the first DNS server, Jeeves, in 1983. The DNS was the combination of five proposed solutions to Stanford's increasingly unwieldy HOSTS.txt file.

Rights and Responsibilities

As the DNS was implemented on ARPANET, which was controlled by the US Government, control over the DNS fell under the United States as well. In doing so, it became the United States' responsibility to keep the DNS running, providing users—which were entirely United States citizens—with a safe and proper access to websites. As this access was maintained and more normalized, the action of using the Internet, and accessing websites, felt like a right to United States citizens.

Legacy

When looking back at history, we see great acts and advancements like nuclear weapons, sailing the Delaware, and becoming a global superpower through luck and ambition. However, we often gloss over the internet, another item of American origin. Alongside these advancements, the internet has further boosted the US’s position as a global superpower. This makes it more relevant that the US must maintain a neutral position as a massive player and keep the responsibility of maintaining the internet, therefore ensuring the rights of American users in an American-dominated internet to connection and safety.

Annotated Bibliography

These are the wonderful sources which provided the information and graphics needed for the website:

“Accountability Mechanisms - ICANN.” Www.icann.org, www.icann.org/resources/pages/mechanisms-2014-03-20-en.
This webpage is a collection of the rules and responses ICANN has to corruption and general mistreatment. ICANN is the primary manager of the DNS, and the source provides vital insight on how the government’s control over the Internet stays largely neutral.
Kessler, Gary. “SETTING UP YOUR OWN DNS.” Setting up Your Own DNS (Kessler), www.garykessler.net/library/dns.html. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
Kessler helps define the rights citizens have on the World Wide Web and creates an in-depth explanation of how the DNS system works, building off Schiavetta. He also describes issues with the DNS, and the importance of a DNS.
Klein, Hans. “ICANN and Internet Governance: Leveraging Technical Coordination to Realize Global Public Policy.” Information Society, vol. 18, no. 3, May 2002, pp. 193–207. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240290074959.
This article develops the idea of the US government controlling the Internet and “killing the hydra” of the old Internet through the DNS, and introduces the idea of the government needing to have the responsibility of maintaining a safe Internet.
Mohn, Elizabeth. “Domain Name System (DNS).” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, Jan. 2023. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=d6f010e6-bb7c-34c6-b084-df2deace283a.
Mohn’s introduction establishes necessary background information to explain the DNS’s functions and usage. This background contains vital details on why the US’s control over the Internet is a necessary point to address.
O’Brien, Danny. “Tune in to the Net’s Untapped Power.” New Scientist, vol. 183, no. 2458, July 2004, p. 22. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=c816e6c2-ebe8-3c7c-bdf0-08750541494d.
O’Brien brings up a new way to use the DNS, increasing its versatility. These newfound uses allow for a more in-depth understanding of a citizen’s rights to accessing the Internet.
Plosker, George. “Who Runs the .Gov and .Edu Domains?” Search Engine Watch, 8 Oct. 2018, www.searchenginewatch.com/2003/11/12/who-runs-the-gov-and-edu-domains/?amp=1.
Most other sources do not define how the government/what the government controls. Plosker details this and how the US has specifically administered this to maintain a healthy Internet, while also in part impeding a citizen's right to access.
Schiavetta, Susan, and Konstantinos Komaitis. “ICANN’s Role in Controlling Information on the Internet.” International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, vol. 17, no. 3, Nov. 2003, pp. 267–84. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/1360086032000174379.
Schiavetta takes the established background and builds upon it, noting foreign government pressure, the American monopoly on the Internet, and establishes the powers of ICANN—the government’s new agency in the Internet. Alongside this, Susan explains how the DNS works.
“The ‘Whois’ Database and Cybercrime Investigation.” FBI, FBI, 4 Sept. 2003, archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-whois-database-and-cybercrime-investigation.
Deputy Deputy Assistant Director James E. Farnan, Cyber Division, Assistant Director, Cyber Division details a way the US government uses the DNS, both through trimming the Internet and proper registration. This is noted through multiple cited government agencies, and the “Whois” database, all relying on DNS to maintain a safe Internet, one of the responsibilities of the government.
GeeksforGeeks. “What Is Domain Name System(DNS)?” GeeksforGeeks, 25 Sept. 2023, www.geeksforgeeks.org/whats-is-domain-name-systemdns/.
Provided images for the website.
“URL – Definition | Webflow Glossary.” Webflow.com, webflow.com/glossary/url.
Provided images for the website.
Prajapati, Dhruv. “How DNS Works: A Guide to Understanding the Internet’s Address Book.” FreeCodeCamp.org, 14 May 2025, www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-dns-works-the-internets-address-book/. Accessed 18 May 2025.
Provided images for the website.