Public Netbase was founded in 1994 by Austrian musician Konrad Becker and Francisco de Sousa Webber in Vienna's Messepalast (later renamed to Museumsquartier).

[1] Most of the institute's activities after 1994 occurred through Public Netbase, leading to the names and establishment dates being loosely applied, even in the organization's official material.

[3] Much of the web space provided through Public Netbase supported Austrian artists, although some hosted projects, such as the Transformation Story Archive, had wider recognition.

Haider accused Public Netbase of sponsoring child pornography[8] and conflated Christina Göstl's hosted erotic art with a commercial porn site run from the British Virgin Islands during a speech in parliament.

[10] The organization's lease at the Viennese Museumsquartier was not renewed after the entire cultural area was remodelled in the early 2000s,[11] and it faced a series of audits and other bureaucratic challenges.

It can be described as "an ongoing effort to critically observe and investigate new technologies in a societal, economic and artistic context"[17] led to involvement with the UNESCO Digi-Arts program[18] and a series of conventions across Europe.

[24] This project questioning the "bio-technological revolution" was developed by the US-based artist collective Critical Art Ensemble in co-operation with Public Netbase.

[25] In the course of this co-operation with The Society of the Unknown (London) a freight container – installed in front of Vienna's opera house – was "transformed into a psychogeographical feedback device".

[6] Period After was "focusing on the long term development in the Balkan region, related to media, contemporary culture and the potential and real consequences of the ongoing crisis."

[28] European Cultural Backbone was "a coalition of mediacultural institutions and individuals working together to creatively use and develop participatory media for social change".

The project took place in an underground station in Vienna and included, amongst others, Franz Xaver's media installation "Fremdsteuerung",[30] several lectures as well as presentations of initiatives like Period After and the newly formed platform Get to Attack.

In free:re:public this belief in the political potential of sound was put into practice in the form of huge youth cultural protest demonstrations that were organized once a year in Vienna.

Passengers were informed that, as a consequence of a new EU directive, they were "facing the risk of their personal data, including credit card number and religious affiliation, being transferred to the US authorities without their knowledge".

Faked announcements informed that Karlsplatz, one of Vienna's historical squares, was going to be renamed to "Nikeplatz" and that as part of this process a 36 meter high monument in form of the Nike-logo would be erected.

(Brian Holmes)[48] After the artist and researcher Steve Kurtz, founding member of Critical Art Ensemble, had been arrested by the FBI and faced "an indictment based on laws that severely curtail fundamental rights using the fight against terrorism as a pretext",[49] Public Netbase organized solidarity- and protest events in Vienna.

2005 was officially declared a 'jubilee year' and Public Netbase launched a "range of political and cultural events [...] against the engines of jubilation, [that] will facilitate debates on the various jubilee topics from different emancipatory perspectives.

Amongst others, a faked press conference was organized in Vienna's main shopping street: The launch of a similar anti-piracy campaign in Austria was announced and people accused of offenses like "having sent copyrighted ringtones to a friend" were provided to the pillory.