Internet Association to shut down at the end of 2021

On December 15, the Internet Association (IA)'s Board of Directors announced that they have decided to close the organization at the end of 2021. "Our industry has undergone tremendous growth and change since the Internet Association was formed almost 10 years ago," says the organization's statement. "IA has made great progress on its mission to foster innovation, promote economic growth, and empower people through a free and open internet. As this chapter closes, member companies remain committed to advancing public policy in support of this mission and will continue to work with stakeholders in other capacities."

Politico reports that the Internet Association offered no specific reason for its decision to disband. But the group has struggled with financial woes after Microsoft pulled its support earlier in 2021, and also faced internal growing pains under new leadership. IA was beset by infighting between the big tech companies — Google, Amazon and Facebook — and the smaller tech companies, many of which have been agitating for antitrust action against the behemoths. Because of its varied membership, IA decided early on to stay out of antitrust battles, even as those became the most important threats facing the largest tech companies. Some critics of the large companies also bemoaned IA's silence on the issue, saying that helped seal its doom.