Bosses fret over threats to Internet free trade

Business leaders pushing for frictionless free trade have something new to worry about: the potential break-up of the Internet, which today forms the backbone of the global economy. The issue was a hot topic at the just concluded World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos, and the forum sought to provide a platform for debate over ways to maintain an open, cross-border Web in the face of pressures for national regulation.

"Is fragmentation happening? Quite frankly, there is a temptation," said Vittorio Colao, chief executive of mobile telecoms group Vodafone, who pointed to different regulatory regimes as an impediment to network traffic.

A growing volume of business relies on the Internet, from tourism to financial services, and the Web has empowered firms, especially smaller ones, to find customers in foreign markets who would otherwise be out of reach.

Yet even as the Internet has become embedded in modern life, its interconnected nature has come under attack from interests ranging from Governments to corporate brands decrying copyright abuses or fearing cyber attacks such as those at Sony.

Seeking to fill these breaches, national governments, courts and regulators are pressing for local controls that could "Balkanise" -- or fragment -- the network. "People should be concerned," said John Drzik, head of global risk at insurance broker Marsh.