The Internet Celebrates Its 35th Birthday

CYBERSPACE — The year the Internet was born, the Beatles were still together, “Hawaii Five-O” was on the tube, the Woodstock concert took place, the Manson family ran amok and man walked on the moon. In 1969, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, transmitted data from one oversized computer to another.

Not unlike that momentous moment in 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell transmitted his voice over a wire to Thomas Watson, on Sept. 2, 1969, UCLA Prof. Len Kleinrock and graduate students including Vinton Cerf and Stephen Crocker exchanged bits of gibberish between two computers linked by a 15-foot cable in an engineering lab on the university’s Westwood campus.

Just as Bell and Watson’s experimentation gave birth to the telephone, the Internet emerged out of the UCLA test and the brave new wired world was born.

The Internet per se preceded the World Wide Web by about a quarter century. Prior to the web, the flow of computer information was largely restricted to academic and Defense Department circles.

By early 1970 - the year the Beatles broke up - three additional “nodes” joined UCLA’s nascent network. A few years later, email began. The TCP/IP communications protocol came into being by the end of the 1970s when Jimmy Carter was in the White House. This was followed by the domain name system in the 1980s, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

But by the mid-1990s, with the advent of the web, access to the until-then cloistered enclave of the Internet became more and more public, in ever-increasing numbers. Today, what was once the exclusive preserve of academia and the military is an increasingly indispensable and regular part of everyday life, from offices to homes.

Crocker and Cerf are still involved with the Internet. Crocker chairs the Security and Stability Advisory Committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, an important international organization for web oversight. Cerf works for MCI. Kleinrock is still a professor of computer science at UCLA.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

2025 XBIZ Amsterdam Website Launches With Call for Speakers

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the website for its annual European conference, XBIZ Amsterdam, is now live.

NC Governor Vetoes Bill Targeting Adult Industry, Override Possible

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein today vetoed a bill imposing new regulations that adult industry observers have warned could push adult websites and platforms to ban most adult creators and content.

25,000 Sign Petition to Legalize Pornography in Ukraine

An OnlyFans model’s petition to decriminalize pornography in Ukraine has amassed the 25,000 signatures required for official consideration by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

WannaCollab Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

WannaCollab has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

FSC Unpacks SCOTUS Age Verification Ruling in Webinar

The Free Speech Coalition conducted a public webinar Tuesday to help adult industry stakeholders understand the Supreme Court’s recent decision in FSC v. Paxton, and its potential implications.

UK Lawmaker Calls for Appointment of 'Porn Minister'

Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, the Conservative member of Parliament who recently convened a new anti-pornography task force, is calling for the appointment of a “minister for porn,” according to British news outlet The Guardian.

FSC Toasts Jeffrey Douglas for 30 Years of Service

n the very same evening when the adult industry was hit hard by the Supreme Court ruling supporting Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181, members of the Free Speech Coalition board, staff and supporters gathered to celebrate Jeffrey Douglas’ 30 years as board chair — a fitting reflection of his reputation as an eternal optimist.

TTS Opens UK Testing Location

Talent Testing Service (TTS) has opened a new U.K. location in Ware, Hertfordshire.

FSC: Age-Verification Laws Go Into Effect in South Dakota, Georgia, Wyoming on July 1

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published a statement regarding new age verification laws set to go into effect tomorrow in South Dakota, Georgia, and Wyoming.

FSC Responds to Supreme Court Decision on Texas AV Law

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has released a statement responding to last week's Supreme Court decision on FSC v. Paxton, the Texas age verification law.

Show More