Stories from the Beginning of the Internet | 60 Minutes Full Episodes
In this compelling retrospective, “60 Minutes” delves into the transformative early days of the internet, revealing the triumphs and tribulations that shaped our digital landscape. Spanning several segments from the late ’90s and early 2000s, this episode features thought-provoking reports that highlight the culture and controversies of the burgeoning online world.
Highway Robbery (1995) explores the rise of teenage computer hackers, shedding light on how youthful curiosity turned into sophisticated cyber experimentation. In The Rumor Mill (1997), Lesley Stahl examines the alarming spread of conspiracy theories online, a phenomenon that continues to resonate today.
Moving into the new millennium, Not as Private as You Think (2000) uncovers the unsettling reality of how internet companies track consumer data, raising questions about privacy that are still relevant. Meanwhile, Women on the Web (2000) highlights the increasing representation of women in tech, celebrating their contributions to the evolving digital sphere.
Steve Kroft’s segment, Cyber War (2000), takes a closer look at the vulnerabilities of critical U.S. infrastructure to cyber threats, a warning that echoes in today’s discussions on cybersecurity. Rounding out the episode is the endearing Andy Rooney Logs on to the Internet (1996), where Rooney offers his unique perspective on this new digital frontier.
Join us as “60 Minutes” revisits these foundational stories that laid the groundwork for our interactions with technology today.
Watch the full episode to gain insights into a time when the internet was still finding its voice, and understand how those early narratives continue to shape our digital experiences.
For more in-depth reporting and storytelling, subscribe to the “60 Minutes” YouTube channel and explore the wealth of knowledge that awaits!
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“60 Minutes,” the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen’s Top 10.
Video “Stories from the beginning of the internet | 60 Minutes Full Episodes” was uploaded on 08/01/2026 to Youtube Channel 60 Minutes




































I miss the internet I fell in love with.
Its no rumor that Leslie Stahl's old hairstyle is hideous and funny at the same time.
Did not expect to see Michael Saylor pop up lol dude spoke just a crazy back then too!
Wow, didn't realize targeted advertising existed so early in the Internet's life.
pointed at the screen when Michael Saylor came up
shoutout to audiogalaxy from around 2003 or whatever
They always talked about hackers back then and nothing was online enough for it to matter—30 years later companies get hacked left and right
eBay was the Wild West back then. You could see and even search for anything a user bid on and you could spam the bidders of live and completed auctions to avoid selling fees. I got a lot of business that way! Oh, and sending cash or money order was the preferred payment method and everyone said please and thank you when messaging! 😱
I miss the Wild West internet
imagine being Lesley Stahl and watching a guy write a simple html page on his local hard drive and displaying it in a browser then thinking that she has a website…
Wow. MS-DOS was so much better than Windows.
All David Lightman wanted to do was play a game. I like games too!
Instantly it was always to protect the rich corporations , even back then
1990 fatigue
The stupid regulations have destroyed the internet fun
Internet eh? Is that thing still around?
This show used to be so good. Shame it's dead in the water now.
That 2nd segment was pure propaganda. Like text book example of propaganda.
Did you see all those Windows NT 4 computers at the Pentagon? Amazing how much has changed in the past 26 years, but remains the same. Vast majority of desktop computers still run Windows, but so much of our primary computing has shifted smart phones and tablets. I miss the old Internet, I wish it full archived in a way it could be a playland we could go revisit in read only mode. If it wasn't for the Internet Archive, a lot of old websites would have disappeared and with so much funneled through Google, there are a lot of dead links these days or its been erased.
Back when an hour was 70 minutes long
17:30 this guy. 😂😂😂😂
My dad was too cheap to get AOL at first so he signed up with "Walmart Connect" instead… which was only $9.99 a month. It wasn't half bad though, actually a pretty good deal compared to the $30 a month AOL was asking for at that time.
Remember keyword AOL. Lol.
I've learned you have to follow channels and go on them on YT nowadays to find gems like this.
Three words: Dancing baby email. Ha!
The internet is the least private place on earth. Everything connected to it is hackable.
This should tell people that their fears of every new technology like AI are mostly unwarranted.
Clown show, designed to incite terror and their father corporations used this to create a new flow of money out of fear. "Hackers" are also part of the population, the holes they were finding were to secure everyone's information, their own included. The bad apples would have been bad without a PC or Internet.
All the rumors and "misinformation" still very much defines the Internet. And, problem is, it's not so easy to se through the lies anymore.
The whole segment about the "feminization" of the Internet is hilarious. Although true, a segment like this would never be made today. The Internet was made by men for men? Scandalous! Women took over the Internet because they like shopping? Sexist! Pretty funny how things that were once so obvious to everyone are now considered controversial.
17:13 nevada man strikes again