Dedicated to Levi Felix (1984–2017)
Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan and Adam Fish 2017
The right of Ramesh Srinivasan and Adam Fish to be identified as Authors of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2017 by Polity Press
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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-0617-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-0618-7 (pb)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Srinivasan, Ramesh, author. | Fish, Adam, author.
Title: After the Internet / Ramesh Srinivasan, Adam Fish.
Description: Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017009318 (print) | LCCN 2017026160 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509506200 (Mobi) | ISBN 9781509506217 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509506170 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509506187 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Internet–Social aspects. | Internet–Economic aspects.
Classification: LCC HM851 (ebook) | LCC HM851 .S725 2017 (print) | DDC 302.23/1–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017009318
Typeset in 10.5 on 12 pt Sabon by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by Clays Ltd, St Ives PLC.
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Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
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1.1 Interface of the Tribal Peace Native American system
1.2 The first version of a fluid ontology created with tribal communities across San Diego County
1.3 Zuni leadership examining an indigenous map
1.4 Zuni community members collectively viewing digital objects via Amidolanne
2.1 Higinio O. Ochoa III's selfie-incrimination
2.2 Ross Ulbricht's LinkedIn page
2.3 GCHQ's JTRIG computer network attacks (CNA)
3.1 Social media revolution t-shirt
3.2 The Tweet-Nadwa (or “Tweet up”) bringing activists together with real-time conversations online in Cairo, June 2011
3.3 Mosireen space
3.4 Tahrir Cinema
3.5 Military helicopter dropping flags on protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, early July 2013
4.1 NSA's New Collection Posture
4.2 NSA Data Center in Utah
4.3 The house in Reykjavik where WikiLeaks worked
Ramesh is truly grateful to his dear friend and conspirator Adam Fish for the inspiration to work together to fight for an internet in line with principles of democracy and social justice. This book marks but the latest in nearly a dozen years of collaboration. It could not have been written by either of us alone but comes from the union of the authors and exceeds the sum of each of us individually.
Ramesh thanks his sublime partner Syama for all her support in helping him dedicate himself to making this book possible. He also is truly grateful for the presence, love, and care of his parents Seenu and Sita and brother Mahesh. He thanks his incredible informants from across the world who have taught him the power of fighting for community sovereignty, equality, and a more ethical world. He thanks the National Science Foundation, UCLA, the Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association, the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, Rhizomatica, and the inspiring figures, particularly from the Mosireen collective, with whom he broke bread over three years in the midst of Tahrir Square and its transformations.
Adam thanks Ramesh for a decade of collaborative creative work and play. Lucas Follis deserves thanks for sharing his wisdom and generating many ideas around hacktivism. Ideas for chapter 2 were first explored in discussions with him and resulted in A. Fish & L. Follis, “Edgework, State Power, and Hacktivists,” Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 5(2) (2015): 383–90 and A. Fish & L. Follis, “Gagged and Doxed: Hacktivism's Self-Incrimination Complex,” International Journal of Communication, 10 (2016): 3281–300.
The research in Iceland was funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST Action IS1202; Security Lancaster; the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Lancaster University; and the Department of Sociology at the University of Lancaster. Thanks go out to the University of Iceland for their generous visiting professorship in the summer of 2015. Alex Johnson should be thanked for her help in finding pirates and data centers in Iceland. Adam thanks his wife Robin for her love, support, and endurance, and his daughter Io for providing play and comic relief.
Together, we dedicate this book to the memory of our inspiring friend and brother Levi Felix, a visionary in his life. His work focused on creating greater mindful awareness in our interactions with technology remains a guiding light for us both.