When what we eventually came to know as "the Internet" started, it was operated by the government. It is now operated by civilian companies such as Google and universities. There is no one operator of the Internet. What made the government surrender control of the Internet? A. Private companies had developed most of the technology that drove the Internet. It was those companies that took out patents on that technology. Because the government operated the Internet, those companies were not allowed to derive royalties from their inventions. So, they demanded the government free the Internet from its control and allow private companies to run the Internet and thereby profit from their patents. B. Congress objected to the government running the Internet. So several laws were passed transferring the Internet into private management. C. In the early to middle 1990 s, Europe had privatized X.25 so that businesses could use it to sell products to ordinary consumers. This left U.S. businesses in the lurch. So, in order to make U.S. businesses competitive in the global economic environment, the government surrendered control of the Internet to private companies so they could use it as they saw fit