Panel: Dirty Cables. The Technology & Politics of Network Infrastructures

DEEP CABLES: Uncovering the Wiring of the World. The 8th event of the Disruption Network Lab. Panel: Dirty Cables. The Technology & Politics of Network Infrastructures with Moritz Metz (radio journalist, DE), Marc Helmus (network operator and engineer, DE), Anne Roth (net activist, senior advisor for the German Parliamentary Inquiry on Mass Surveillance for the group Die Linke, DE). Moderated by Anna Biselli (journalist, Netzpolitik.org, DE). This panel investigates the materiality and hidden infrastructure of land and undersea network cables, tracing a path from the first submarine cables to today’s worldwide fiber-optic network, and presents the real but hidden world of the Internet, where big data is linked to geopolitical surveillance. The participants will speak about the existence of secret data warehouses where our Internet selves are stored, the geographical architecture and functioning of land and undersea cables, the secrets of the network infrastructure, showing what the Internet actually is and its consequences for our online everyday life, both in its public and private aspects. Expert of the hidden Internet world Moritz Metz, network operator and engineer within the cable industry Marc Helmus, and member of the working team of the German Parliamentary Inquiry on Mass Surveillance Anne Roth, will enter into a dialogue to reflect around the materiality of the wired network and its historical and geopolitical dimensions. Starting with an analysis on the physical network infrastructure both on land and on sea (with Moritz Metz and Marc Helmus), the panel will culminate with an analysis of the discourse of data interception and surveillance on cable infrastructure, and what we know so far (with Anne Roth). http://www.disruptionlab.org/deep-cables (http://www.disruptionlab.org/deep-cables) Photo: Maria Silvano Produced by Voice Republic For more podcasts visit http://voicerepublic.com