Internet misunderstanding

So I'm having a misunderstanding with internet.

Internet is an international network that makes 2 or more computers communicate without being connected on the same network. (Router)

In order to be identified, you have something called ip address. Since we can't create our own identities we pay phone/internet services to provide us IP(s) so we can connect. But even they cannot create new IPs out of thin air, they buy them from a company called ICANN, right?

The thing I don't get is, why do they say that internet is decentralised? Even if ICANN cannot control the way IPs are getting distributed and used, it is the only company that generates them.

So internet is not decentralised... But bitcoin that uses it, is?

I mean, you are free to do everything you want as long as its not illegal

ziko12345 said:

I mean, you are free to do everything you want as long as its not illegal

Click to expand...

Well not what I asked

ICANN itself is decentralised. Also, they don’t control or sell IP addresses as far as I am aware, but rather they help to coordinate their distribution and use.

You can read more about their role here-

https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/what-2012-02-25-en

I think your assessment is quite accurate. it's not controlled by a single company or single government, but there are still several major corporations that control the internet infrastructure. Perhaps, the next version of the internet will be more independent and decentralized.

It depends what you mean by "decentralized".

Technically, it is decentralized because it does not rely on a control center to manage traffic. If a huge hub goes down, IP packets will re-route through another path without requiring any active management. This is what is usually meant when someone says the Internet is decentralized.

If you mean politically or legally, then it is only partly decentralized in that agencies with legal or political control can interfere with the technical decentralization. Such organizations impose control on the way the internet works and what can and cannot be accessed by an arbitrary set of users. So China, for example, manages what parts of the internet their citizens may access. Telecom Corporations may exercise control of large parts of the Internet they control. This a problem raised by the many Internet freedom orgs who worry that, for example, a large telecom could throttle the internet to sites/services they do not own while allowing more bandwidth to their own properties.

Internet neutrality, Internet freedom and the global "rights" of users are huge issues that can send you down a warren of rabbit holes with a few Google searches.