I've been on the internet since the mid-80s, so I've pretty much seen it all. The current era has been characterized by widespread corporate takeovers, relegating independent sites to the backwaters of the internet at best. Forums for public comment used to be common, particularly on news sites; now they're mostly gone, relegated to a few massive sites and services which are heavily censored, swarming with bots, and easily controlled.
Free speech was mostly the rule; now it's strictly forbidden, particularly speech against the interests of corporations and the ruling class. Even if you DO find a place online where you can speak against the oligarchy, it's guaranteed that you'll be speaking into a void.
You can have all the free speech you want, as long as no one ever hears you.
The process of enshittification rules the day. Search engines which used to provide useful results now produce nothing but advertising and bot-fodder; on a recent Google search for blog entries about a topic of public interest, I literally got no results other than advertising. Blogs have effectively been eliminated from general public view, unless you go specifically looking for one that you already know about.
Technologically, broadband is the sole province of massive corporations which provide the shittiest service possible at the highest prices. There used to be talk of setting up small internet networks that would be outside the control of corporations and the government (which are now, of course, the same thing); that's utterly forgotten now. Governments all over the world now have kill-switches for the internet that can be used at any time, and that very definitely includes the United States.
There was a time when it was hoped that the internet would finally give power to the people. Instead, it's being used to enslave us even more.
The closest thing I've seen to any sign of hope over the last several decades is the development of the Fediverse.