HTMlles – Joana Moll: A Deconstruction of the Internet

In association with HTMlles 12: Terms of Privacy

This workshop seeks to critically reveal, analyze, and connect the complex network of material and immaterial agents that converge on the configuration of the Internet and its impact on the physical world. In this workshop we will trace and reveal some of the major “invisible” events that happen when accessing a website from the browser, such as the physical journey of the information through land and submarine cables (Geopolitics of the Internet) the different stakeholders (companies and countries) that have access to our data (Trackers, Data Brokers, Internet providers, Backbone providers and so on) and the environmental impact of the information flows (data and CO2 emissions). During the workshop we will carry out a deep analysis of this processes and will capture them in a physical map that will allow us to visualize the amount of events triggered by a seemingly neutral URL request. The workshop will be half theoretical and half hands-on. During the practical part we will develop a DIY forensic analysis on how the information travels across inland and submarine cables and will reveal the different governments and companies that have access to this data. Thus, by developing this exercise, some crucial hidden structures and mechanisms that sculpt our reality will be revealed.

Topics

• Internet Physicality
• Geopolitics of the Internet
• Internet Backbone Providers (NSP)
• Internet Service Providers (ISP)
• Communication technologies & CO2 emissions
• Online Tracking
• Data Brokers
• Cookies
• Data Privacy
• TOR