would it be possible to delete the internet?

[friartuck3]

By this I mean - the entire internet as we know it?
subquestion What would you do if "they" deleted it?

[Heather]

They could probably shut it down but it could never be deleted and never will be. Governments rely on the internet for many many things.

[Rankine Zero]

Since the Internet is a collection of independent networks that have been interconnected, it is decentralized.
That means no single governement or country have a way to shut down any network but their own.

As for deleting it...the question makes no sense. The Internet is not a file.

[Jim]

There is no "they" in any meaningful sense. And, really, there is no such thing as THE internet. It's not like there's a single power cord can be unplugged and the whole thing goes down.