AP Photo

Back in the 1990s, when nearly every newspaper story about the World Wide Web seemed to include some mention of the Wild West, offering Internet newbies a safe environment was a sound business model. In 1999, America Online made $4.8 billion in revenue by offering a reliable Internet connection and a walled garden of content. But soon enough the Web outside AOL’s walls became more secure (and much more compelling), and people found its walled garden to be less of a fortress and more of a prison.