The Master Switch

In *The Master Switch*, Tim Wu traces the history of American information industries—telephone, radio, film, television, and the internet—to argue that they follow a recurring "Cycle" from open chaos to closed monopoly. Wu, a Columbia law professor who coined the term "net neutrality," describes an early period of disruptive innovation, followed by consolidation under a dominant firm, and finally a period of stability that is eventually shattered by the next technological wave. The book's cast includes Theodore Vail, who built AT&T into a regulated monopoly; David Sarnoff of RCA, who centralized radio; and the Hollywood studio system, which consolidated film production and distribution. Wu contrasts these with moments of openness: amateur radio operators before the 1920s, the independent film studios that fought the Edison trust, and the early decentralized internet. A central concept is the "Separator"—figures or institutions that break monopolies, such as the Justice Department's antitrust suit against AT&T or the FCC's "victory" in the Paramount case. Wu also introduces the "Kronos effect," the tendency of a new technology to devour its predecessor, and asks whether the internet is now entering its own closed phase under giants like Google, Facebook, and cable providers. Wu's argument is neither deterministic nor optimistic. He warns that information monopolies can stifle speech, innovation, and democracy, and proposes a "Separations Principle" to keep control over content, infrastructure, and distribution apart. The book blends legal history, business narrative, and media theory to show that each era's openness is temporary unless deliberately protected.