Who Runs the Internet?

No one. The Internet is a cooperative effort among Internet Service Providers (ISPs), software companies, volunteer organizations, and a few facilities that tie the whole thing together. The ISPs and software companies are completely independent and most of them compete with each other. The ISPs provide internet service to people much the same way that they obtain telephone service from a telephone company. ISPs agree to connect their networks to each other and transmit information following an established set of rules (protocols).

The software companies agree to manufacture programs (such as email or web browsers) that also follow protocols. There are other organizations that keep things straight. Some assign Internet addresses in much the same manner as telephone numbers are assigned, others keep track of names used by Internet users and groups, and a large volunteer organization called the Internet

Engineering Task Force (IETF) develops the protocols computers follow to make network communications succeed.