Daniel K Moran figured out the endgame:

"Therefore, the Lunar Bureau of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force DataWatch has created the LINK, the Lunar Information Network Key. There are currently nine thousand, four hundred and two Boards on Luna; new Boards must be licensed before they can rent lasercable access. Every transaction--every single transaction--which takes place in the Lunar InfoNet is keyed and tracked on an item-by-item basis. The basis of this unprecedented degree of InfoNet security is the Lunar Information Network Key. The Key is an unbreakable encryption device which the DataWatch employs to validate and track every user in the Lunar InfoNet. Webdancers attempting unauthorized access, to logic, to data, to communications facilities, will be punished to the full extent of the law."

from The Long Run (1989)

Your browser won't access a site without TLS; this is for your own protection. TLS certificates are valid for one TCP session. All certs are issued by an organization reporting directly to a national information security office; if your website isn't in compliance with all mandates, you stop getting certs.