23/2 - Tech | Imaginations

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The Ends of the Internet. A Discussion
Heidersberger, Benjamin; van Treeck, Jan Claas (2023) , S. 146-154
In their discussion, Benjamin Heidersberger and Jan Claas van Treeck critically engage with the historical and ideological trajectory of the internet. They foreground three geopolitical spheres of influence shaping today's internet: the US, Europe, and China, each manifesting distinct socio-cultural values, technological infrastructures, and regulatory attitudes. Central to their discussion is the concept of 'territorialization' and 'anti-territorialization', illustrated through the national and international censorship cases vis-a-vis border-transcending aspirations of the internet founders-generation and currently Starlink. Anticipating a contested future, they posit a metaphorical arms race between control and resistance within the digital sphere, a splintering of the internet into a cyber-balkan of internets - considering the implications of these shifts for wider academic discourses on resistance, commoning, and decolonization.