Tim Berners-Lee’s early conception of the internet as a network dangled the carrot of freedom for all to be afforded unguarded expression, circumventing offline pressures and prejudices.
However, the dynamic nature of networks implies that the inherent dynamism is a reaction to forces exerted by nodes. Forces underpinned by power and control create political milieus, provoking debate in relation to network workings. An analysis of debates concerning the online world suggests that common themes exist between it and offline networks.
Three of the highly contested debates of the internet network that have parallels to non- technological networks include:
1. The permeation of capitalism in relation to the domain name system where ‘…the symbolic capital of brands…’ (Terranova 2004: p.45) introduced by pneumonic values assigned to IP addresses has allowed commercialisation to infiltrate the online world. In addition to the economic values of domain names there exists a pressure on linguistics that has, until recently, favoured Latin denominated languages. Up until 2010, the domain name system has been unequipped to support anything but Latin characters thereby excluding accommodation and accurate representation for Arabic based languages. See the press release for non-Latin domain names.
2. The digital divide which fundamentally forms two classes of society: the technological haves and have nots [of] the information age (Wresch 1996). In the internet network, those who are able to participate are only able to do so having met a variety of conditions. Firstly hardware infrastructure and associated components of technology are needed before access to the network can be gained. Secondly, training resources need to be available and accessible to provide education and influence uptake for new participants. Of course literacy is also a pre-condition. Without representation of the ‘have nots’ it has been argued that the cultural information in the internet space is unevenly represented: ‘Cultural information may actually be a larger problem with a continuing shortage of locally- originated information. The people of developing nations are still not the primary providers of information about their own lives and culture – either in books, or on websites.’ (Wresch 2009).
3. Sovereign rule which has proven to be unequally applied between countries. ‘The state is here to stay, at least in some form, because it is tied to the constitution of identity and the traditional security role that it performs as the holder of the monopoly on the legitimate use of force.’ (Everard 2000 p.44). Thus the networking potential for a node will be affected by the country that node is situated. At one extreme countries like China adopt heavy filtering strategies, while other countries use national security as reason enough to undertake surveillance on a nodes online actions and interests.
1. The permeation of capitalism in relation to the domain name system where ‘…the symbolic capital of brands…’ (Terranova 2004: p.45) introduced by pneumonic values assigned to IP addresses has allowed commercialisation to infiltrate the online world. In addition to the economic values of domain names there exists a pressure on linguistics that has, until recently, favoured Latin denominated languages. Up until 2010, the domain name system has been unequipped to support anything but Latin characters thereby excluding accommodation and accurate representation for Arabic based languages. See the press release for non-Latin domain names.
2. The digital divide which fundamentally forms two classes of society: the technological haves and have nots [of] the information age (Wresch 1996). In the internet network, those who are able to participate are only able to do so having met a variety of conditions. Firstly hardware infrastructure and associated components of technology are needed before access to the network can be gained. Secondly, training resources need to be available and accessible to provide education and influence uptake for new participants. Of course literacy is also a pre-condition. Without representation of the ‘have nots’ it has been argued that the cultural information in the internet space is unevenly represented: ‘Cultural information may actually be a larger problem with a continuing shortage of locally- originated information. The people of developing nations are still not the primary providers of information about their own lives and culture – either in books, or on websites.’ (Wresch 2009).
3. Sovereign rule which has proven to be unequally applied between countries. ‘The state is here to stay, at least in some form, because it is tied to the constitution of identity and the traditional security role that it performs as the holder of the monopoly on the legitimate use of force.’ (Everard 2000 p.44). Thus the networking potential for a node will be affected by the country that node is situated. At one extreme countries like China adopt heavy filtering strategies, while other countries use national security as reason enough to undertake surveillance on a nodes online actions and interests.
According to Terranova “The tangled and heterogeneous network that constitutes the internet is thus not simply reconciled within the hieratic indifference of a universal information space, but also subjected to heated controversial political debates, expensive litigations and cultural struggles.’ Far from providing equal and unprejudiced entry to all, the internet as a network is a subject of similar power and political controls that are exerted in offline communities.
Resources
'First Non-Latin Domain Names Go Online’. Press Release 6May 2010. Retrieved from ICANN at http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-06may10-en.pdf
References
Terranova, T (2004) ‘Network dynamics’ in Network culture. Politics for the Information age, London and Ann Arbor, MI:Pluto Press. p.45
Terranova, T (2004) ‘Network dynamics’ in Network culture. Politics for the Information age, London and Ann Arbor, MI:Pluto Press. p.45
Wresch, W. (1996) ‘Disconnected: Haves and Have-nots in the Information Age’. Rutgers University Press
Wresch, W. (2009) ‘Progress on the global divide: an ethical perspective based on Amartya Sen’s capabilities model’ in Ethics and Information Technology 11 (4). p.263
