Doing research for upcoming with + and coming across some gold. Might turn into an article of “how did the internet get here?” Snippet: The DMCA in 1998 added two major internet-shaping mechanisms: anti-circumvention rules and Section 512 safe harbors. Section 512 shields online service providers from monetary liability for user copyright infringement if they meet conditions, including takedown cooperation. Again, there was a real problem: copyright infringement at internet scale. But the solution trained platforms to build notice-and-takedown machinery. This nudged the internet toward institutional compliance layers: upload filters, rights-management systems, repeat-infringer policies, content ID systems, automated enforcement, trusted flaggers. The pattern becomes familiar: To avoid liability, intermediaries become police. Copyright was one of the first major domains where this happened. Later the same pattern spread to terrorism, hate speech, disinformation, child safety, financial compliance, app store rules, payment processing, and sanctions.
