"Unfortunately, although perhaps inevitably, the U.S. and related players felt compelled to replace them with a global overlord." I am starting to suspect that

"Unfortunately, although perhaps inevitably, the U.S. and related players felt compelled to replace them with a global overlord." I am starting to suspect that creating a fully-controlled global network might have been a conscious effort since the early stages of the internet, especially given its history with DARPA. Perhaps this effort didn't begin that far back, but certainly since the mid 80s or early 90s, at a point where internet started crossing the critical threshold from hobbyist or military interests, to everyday/commerce interests. Certainly, nobody could have predicted how popular the internet would become, but once its potential became clear I can only imagine how irresistible the opportunity for its control would have been. The more I think about the current state of affairs, the more I understand now why the Chinese government has resisted efforts by foreign data providers to become primary providers, and instead creating their own versions - it seems they had the foresight that none of us (engineers) had. They smartly created their own search engines and social networks to stop/limit the funneling of their data to foreign companies with the side-benefit of having near-full control over domestic data.