WI: 9/11 happened in 1995

And one thing to note is that early internet was taken up by some major players in other theatres including car companies. It's easy to ignore now who the innovators were when everyone has something, but some of the major US car companies, and IIRC German ones selling in the US, adopted it quickly
 
Really? So the alt-US government in 1995 is going to brand people who are primarily checking e-mail and looking at poor quality porn on the interweb as domestic terrorists? This isn't an ASB scenario where there is magic controlling the thoughts of the US populace. You seriously think that the Clinton administration is going to propose this?
All you need is the right media campaign and 5-10 token cases "proving" the propaganda right. Copyright violations, child porn, (theoretical) sharing of bombmaking material, hate speech, etc.
 
Two deadliest terrorist attacks in American history (9/11 and Oklahoma Bombing) happening just a few months apart? The psyche of America changes greatly. Defiantly some pop culture butterflies, but nothing close to draconian censorship.
 
Two deadliest terrorist attacks in American history (9/11 and Oklahoma Bombing) happening just a few months apart? The psyche of America changes greatly. Defiantly some pop culture butterflies, but nothing close to draconian censorship.
9/11 occuring in 1995 could butterfly away thd OK bombing if McVeigh decided to enlist in the military or is caught by more vigilant surveillance.
 

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
Probably Afghanistan, even though the Taliban wasn't as strong in 1995 as they were in 2001. If Bin Laden is planning something that huge, he probably has contigency plans for when Sudan boots him out, as they did OTL.

I doubt they would take him in being hunted by the USA as enemy #1.
 
All you need is the right media campaign and 5-10 token cases "proving" the propaganda right. Copyright violations, child porn, (theoretical) sharing of bombmaking material, hate speech, etc.

Wrong, since it's straight up illegal according to the Constitution, and the Supreme Court among other judges would agree. Billions of dollars in corporate money would erode any Congressional support. Millions of Americans would already think it was stupid even if they didn't own a computer. In the 1990s and even today, you can't make a law that makes the Patriot Act look like a libertarian wet dream. The response to terrorists flying planes into buildings is to create the TSA security theater, not lock down the rest of society.

Copyright violations (already illegal) wouldn't be a reason to shutdown the internet, just a reason to pass DMCA-type laws and let the RIAA/MPAA sue people (alive or dead) and their pets (like the actual 90s/00s). Child porn was already illegal, so it wouldn't make sense to close down the internet because criminals found a new distribution channel. Bombmaking materials IIRC are not illegal to share, so that's out, and hate speech is definitely not illegal (Brandenburg v. Ohio), outside of direct calls to violence.
 
9/11 occuring in 1995 could butterfly away thd OK bombing if McVeigh decided to enlist in the military or is caught by more vigilant surveillance.

Yeah, but OP mentioned that Al-Qaeda still launch their attack in September. So McVeigh already carried out his bombing.
 
Yeah, but OP mentioned that Al-Qaeda still launch their attack in September. So McVeigh already carried out his bombing.

Furthermore, even if the 9/11ish event happens first, would McVeigh's politics at that time be such that he would be trusting enough of the government to re-enlist?
 
9/11 occuring in 1995 could butterfly away thd OK bombing if McVeigh decided to enlist in the military or is caught by more vigilant surveillance.

The OKC bombing happened in April 1995. An event that happens 5 months later won’t butterfly it away. I think you just got your dates mixed up.

But yes, those two attacks happening back-to-back is going to put Americans in a tizzy over damn near everyone, considering that the two attacks were from very different people with very different motives.
 

Philip

Donor
Don't forget the first WTC bombing in '93. In a little under three years, you'd have the WTC truck bomb, the debacle of the Waco siege, OKC bombing, and the destruction of WTC. There will be a lot of questions about the competency of the US intelligence agencies as well as federal law enforcement. The handling of the the first WTC bombing will be seen as a complete failure. The idea of approaching terrorism as a criminal activity rather than a matter of national security will be completely discredited. The Unabomber seemed unstoppable at the time. Rudolph was about to start his bombing campaign. Expect the FBI to be completely rebuilt.


The rhetoric coming from Limbaugh and friends would be incendiary. Congressional investigations will be brutal. The '96 campaign would be interesting and depressing to watch.
 
Two deadliest terrorist attacks in American history (9/11 and Oklahoma Bombing) happening just a few months apart? The psyche of America changes greatly. Defiantly some pop culture butterflies, but nothing close to draconian censorship.
In 1995, most home Internet was dial-up. I don't even think DSL was even available yet. You would see a technology "freeze" on the growth of the Internet and www. Also, hefty long distance phone bills were the norm through the nineties. Digital cell phones were largely after 2000 and unlimited call plans after 2004. You would probably see the Internet open up more by 2005 or so. In effect, you would lose five years on growth, so by 2010, smart phones could reach OTL levels.
 
In 1995, most home Internet was dial-up. I don't even think DSL was even available yet. You would see a technology "freeze" on the growth of the Internet and www. Also, hefty long distance phone bills were the norm through the nineties. Digital cell phones were largely after 2000 and unlimited call plans after 2004. You would probably see the Internet open up more by 2005 or so. In effect, you would lose five years on growth, so by 2010, smart phones could reach OTL levels.
DSL's basic technologies were around, it was cosh prohibitive.
Maybe in the USA, the rest of the world would continue developing.
 
DSL's basic technologies were around, it was cosh prohibitive.
Maybe in the USA, the rest of the world would continue developing.
The U.S. would have to err on the conservative side and control the Internet to a greater extent. In those years, mobsters used voice encryption devices on ordinary telephones to circumvent FBI wiretaps. You can't monitor everyone, so the authorities need to know where to look. Maybe they would use a screening protocol that picks up keywords in random communication.

The rhetoric coming from Limbaugh and friends would be incendiary. Congressional investigations will be brutal. The '96 campaign would be interesting and depressing to watch.

You might see a return to the Fairness Doctrine for broadcast radio and TV, and require equal time for both sides of sensitive issues, and essentially push Limbaugh to cable and other media. Those with access to more costly media outlets would be less inclined to buy into Rush than those who simply needed to turn on an AM radio. Essentially, his audience would be cut and the 1996 campaign would communicate more like those of 1984 and earlier.
 
The U.S. would have to err on the conservative side and control the Internet to a greater extent. In those years, mobsters used voice encryption devices on ordinary telephones to circumvent FBI wiretaps. You can't monitor everyone, so the authorities need to know where to look. Maybe they would use a screening protocol that picks up keywords in random communication.
Not possible. The Rest of the WorldTM would simple ignore US restrictions and implement their own core services, like DNS, and cabling, making US actions laughably stupid.
Not possible now let alone with mid-90s tech.

You might see a return to the Fairness Doctrine for broadcast radio and TV, and require equal time for both sides of sensitive issues,
Yeah... That's assuming that both sides have equal validity and gives excessive credibility to loons.
 
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