Throughout 2013, volumes were written about whistleblower Edward Snowden and how U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted phone calls and snooped on internet usage in the U.S. and abroad.
Beyond hand-wringing over privacy issues, there are also business implications heading into the New Year and beyond. Traditionally, a number of organizations have shared governance of the Internet, with the balance of power tilted towards the U.S. and organizations like the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, better known as ICANN. But now, privacy-minded Europeans are poised to make a power grab that could affect the very future of the Web, shift the balance of power away from the U.S., and put American companies at a disadvantage.
