The Web We Weave: Why We Must Reclaim the Internet from Moguls, Misanthropes, and Moral Panic

A bold defense of the internet, arguing that attempts to fix and regulate it are often misguided

The internet stands accused of dividing us, spying on us, making us stupid, and addicting our children. In response, the press and panicked politicians seek greater regulation and control, which could ruin the web before we are finished building it.

Jeff Jarvis is convinced we can have a saner conversation about the internet. Examining the web’s past, present, and future, he shows that many of the problems the media lays at the internet’s door are the result of our own failings. The internet did not make us hate; we brought our bias, bigotry, and prejudice with us online. That’s why even well-intentioned regulation will fail to fix hate speech and misinformation and may instead imperil the freedom of speech the internet affords to all. Once we understand the internet for what it is--a human network--we can reclaim it from the nerds, pundits, and pols who are in charge now and turn our attention where it belongs: to fostering community, conversation, and creativity online.

The Web We Weave offers an antidote to today’s pessimism about the internet, outlining a bold vision for a world with a web that works for all of us.

Jeff Jarvis is a longtime journalist and leading expert on the internet. He blogs at Buzzmachine.com, cohosts the podcasts This Week in Google and AI Inside, and has written for the Guardian, the Atlantic, Nation, and Businessweek. The author of five books, including The Gutenberg Parenthesis and What Would Google Do?, he lives in New York.