Who controls the Internet? ISP ownership structures and authoritarianism

Varying ownership structures of Internet service providers (ISPs) affect the political outcomes of Internet diffusion. ISP ownership structures have an impact on whether the Internet is used as repression technology and to what extend practices of digital authoritarianism can be implemented. For example, earlier research has shown that majority ownership of ISPs by the state is linked to Internet shutdowns during elections. This paper systematically analyses how factors such as level and type of authoritarianism, repression, state capacity, cooptation of the business sector, and Internet diffusion determine ISP ownership structures. The paper uses an updated and expanded version of the Telecommunications Ownership and Control dataset (TOSCO 2.0). The dataset provides now information about ISP ownership structures on a worldwide scale (x countries, 2000-2023). Based on this new data, the paper provides a first comparative large-N analysis on the determinants of Internet service provision and thereby contributes to a better understanding of how Internet control is shaped in different types of political regimes.