Internet Internet, a system architecture that has revolutionized communications and methods of commerce by allowing various computer networks around the world to interconnect. Sometimes referred to as a “network of networks,” the Internet emerged in the United States in the 1970s but did not become visible to the general public until the early 1990s. By 2020, approximately 4.5 billion people, or more than half of the world’s population, were estimated to have access to the Internet. And that number is growing, largely due to the prevalence of “smart” technology and the "Internet of Things," where computer-like devices connect with the Internet or interact via wireless networks. These “things” include smartphones, appliances, thermostats, lighting systems, irrigation systems, security cameras. vehicles, even cities. The Internet provides a capability so powerful and general that it can be used for almost any purpose that depends on information, and it is accessible by every in...