The digital exclusion of adults 55 and older was not an accident. It was not the natural outcome of technological progress moving faster than people could keep up. It was a deliberate choice, made by technology companies during the most critical period of the internet's development, and the evidence is now documented and undeniable. The Dot-Com Era: When the Choice Was Made (1990–2001) When the World Wide Web emerged commercially in the 1990s, the technology industry faced a