Floor van Spaendonck wrote an article for the book 'Dearest Tinkebell' by Dutch artist Tinkebell. The book holds up a mirror to the senders of hatemail addressed to Tinkebell by publishing personal information.
Is it really that bad to be quoted in a book without your consent? Does it really matter? Writing a hateful of threatening text clearly posed no problem but exposing the threats and those who sent them will surely lead to some discomfort on their part. The message you wrote on your home computer gets a whole new and unexpected dimension when it is printed and bound in a book. The anonymity that made you feel safe ceases to exist. It turns out that your love for animals doesn’t give you the right to misbehave. And that you are just as vulnerable as the object of your anger.
Apart from maybe feeling unsafe it remains to be seen if being published in a book really matters that much. These days hardly anything is anonymous or private. And almost everybody is aware of his transparent media space. Anything sent via a network can be traced and tagged. Anyone who sends an email or who communicates by phone knows that he or she is contributing to this fluid data cloud. The only things that aren’t part of this cloud are thoughts that haven’t been voiced. But for how long? And does it even matter?
For years, pessimists, sci-fi writers and conspiracy theorists have been talking about the doom scenarios that can play out as a result of the lack of privacy in networked means of communication. In 2002 I was introduced to the world of activitists who criticize the vulnerability of the information age on the one hand and the preachers of the new media gospel on the other. I was involved with world-information.org, which took place in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. This travelling exhibition of the Vienesse Public Netbase gave an extensive overview of all the data projects in existence and the implications that this had for our unsuspecting society.
On the website and in the exhibition attention was given to wiretapping, the artistic counter movements that had made it their mission in life to restore the former Soviet radar installations and Critical Art Ensemble’s greenhouse gen experiments. Unwanted communication noise was effectively battled by Dutch artists Elsenaar and Stolk, who came up with a bubble device that would allow you to temporary shut off all mobile communication around you. Unfortunately, the device was prohibited. I immersed myself in this new digital world and soon discovered that nearly all actors in these circles carry the same paradox: there is an unknown new technology that will change life as we know it. On the one hand this is scary, on the other it is the biggest challenge facing our generation. The values that we as a society adhere to are shaken to their core and things like privacy, originality, ownership and creativity get a radical new meaning. Seven years on we’re in the middle of die Umwertung aller Werte.
Policymakers have become more aware of data flow, the amount of information that is stored and the sensitive nature of software. The Department of Justice has had to explain the use of surveillance cameras and the number of wiretapped conversations but policy remains inconsistent. Those who hunt pedophiles are not allowed to publish information of these former criminals on the net but it is okay to show photos and videos of wanted criminals. Google is allowed to offer street views but not with recognizable faces. Policymakers are allowed to twitter but aren’t allowed to post photos of the council members on their blog. The growth of the medium means that there is a growing need for regulation and net etiquette.
An attempt was made with the media savvy program that the Dutch government launched in 2008 and that aims to educate the Dutch on media use in the widest sense of the word. The lack of knowledge and knowhow about the digital world has resulted in some users taking matters into their own hands, quod erat demonstrandum. There are a number of options:
I. Disconnecting and cleaning up
Parents and educators are an active group on the net. They not only exchange parenting tips but also seem to adhere to the adage: ‘the internet is scary and we should now allow youngster on it.’ These groups blame gaming and the emergence of new media for high school shootings. Instead of educating people on the use of media, filters and repression are used. Time will tell; new media, new conventions.
II. Limitless internet
The tactical media user is found on the other side of the spectrum. This group is rejoicing about this very publication. Smart and savvy commentary on the way in which the standard user deals with the internet is believed to be the way to raise awareness. Wrong use of the medium can kill the free communication that network technology is based on. Because a network is only as strong as its nodes, the misled user is to blame for this. If everyone would know better and adhere to a net etiquette, we would be able to work it out.
There are tongue-in-cheek actions or hacks for policymakers, commercial partners and those who do not stick to the net etiquette in an effort to keep everyone on their toes. These self-cleansing mechanisms are better than regulation or laws that limit freedom. Michael Stevenson, graduate of the Universiteit van Amsterdam, made the Whatever Button to introduce a moment of reflection during all the “I agree” click moments. The plugin makes painfully clear how tricky it is for users to overview their online actions. But this tip comes a little late for the people who sent the hate mail.
III. Get out of here!
Recently, more and more people found out that there are actually a great number of groups looking at everything that is posted on the net. Awareness about the power of social networks and search engines like Google is also growing. Some think this is such a confronting thought that they’d rather delete their online presence altogether or at the very best want more control and say about the data they post.
There is also a growing group of critical web consumers who keep an eye on the terms of agreements or the terms of service (TOS). In early 2009 the social network Facebook tried to give their Terms of service a little twist in an effort to gain control of the users’ data. Apparently, they were able to change the terms without the permission of the users. Successful actions were taken against Facebook and they decided not to change the terms. But the incident did show how vulnerable the property right is of the material we post on social networks.
Given this fact, it makes much more sense to opt for a more anonymous method of conduct. Forego of social networks, photo albums and blogs and don’t use online banking or credit cards and order the Cryptophone.
At a time when certain parties think about eternal online life, there is also a new movement that is all about killing your online self or at least rid the net of your data. In 2009 the Rotterdam art collective Worm welcomed in the New Year with a special new year’s party: the Web 3.0 Suicide night, dive into 2009 with a collective Web2.0 suicide. There’s plenty of online advice on how to remove your digital self, much-needed advice because this is not an easy task.
Filtering or disconnecting yourself. Limitless participation armed with knowhow or getting out of it altogether: these are different ways of dealing with the network paradox. But looking ahead the question arises what to do with this fluid data cloud. How relevant will all these means of communication be in three years time? And how about twenty years time?
Whatever the case may be, the hate mail in this book has escaped the fate that awaits most of the digital content: endlessly roaming the net without anyone giving a damn. Talk about a paradox.
Links
Whatever button by Michael Stevenson http://www.whateverbutton.com/
Disconnecting and filtering ; http://www.id-pro.nl/
Tactical Thinking; http://world-information.org/
Action against Facebook; http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=a6cdf0abf38c1d67123c77fc196e546c&gid=77069107432
Isolating yourself; http://www.bublspace.com/
Untracable calling; http://www.cryptophone.nl/
Removing yourself;http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2C2817%2C2342599%2C00.asp
Worm events; http://www.wormweb.nl
Saving yourself; http://www.ikrip.nl