Introduction. The article is devoted to the difficulties associated with setting a universal definition of Internet technology applicable to any research context without additional explanations. Theoretical analysis. Using general scientific methods of desk research, such as crossreference analysis of sources and interpretive text analysis, as well as methods of conceptual and comparative analysis, two key difficulties are presented, due to which there is no productive solution in the direction of forming a universal definition of the Internet: the comparative historical novelty of the technology, due to which there is no definitive language of description in the research field; as well as the expanding integration of Internet technologies into social practices, coupled with the ever-expanding capabilities of the Internet, which are able of radically changing the ways of interacting with digital devices in connection with socio-cultural, economic, and political responses to changes. It is shown that the history of computer development has a direct influence on the history of Internet technology, but it is not the complete history of informatics and electronic computers that is important for the Internet itself, but the period limited by the appearance of specific technical capabilities of computers. Conclusion. Even abstracted from its social context, a “technical” definition of the Internet requires clarification of its constituent parts. Having defined the Internet in a “technical” format, we highlight problem areas and difficulties in their interpretation that can change the descriptive focus of the term “Internet”, opening up problem areas for further research.