QUIC, or the battle that never was: A case of infrastructuring control over Internet traffic

Abstract

This article investigates the development and deployment process of QUIC, a new standard of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is fostering momentous architectural change in the ways in which communication and data packets transport happens on the Internet. We present QUIC’s standardization process as an analytical site to capture recent evolutions in the balance of power between the so-called “Big Tech” actors, other actors of the Internet industry, and states. The article focuses on three key socio-technical controversies that have shaped its standardization process, and, in particular, explores Google’s capabilities in re-shaping the technical architecture of the Internet. This research contributes to unveiling how control over Internet traffic is “infrastructured” by the QUIC process, highlighting the place of the private sector in standardization processes; the processes of consolidation and concentration of the Internet around dominant actors that are influenced by the making of standards; and the discussions and controversies regarding specific technical aspects of a standard that reconfigure broader balances of power and decision-making in Internet governance.