We Wanted to Do It Ourselves. Dimensioni sociali e tecnologiche delle pratiche emancipatorie nel campo della comunicazione digitale

We Wanted to Do It Ourselves. Dimensioni sociali e tecnologiche delle pratiche emancipatorie nel campo della comunicazione digitale

(We Wanted to Do It Ourselves. Social and technological dimensions of emancipatory practices in the field of digital communication)

Stefania Milan

This article can be read here.

Abstract

This article looks at the sector of cyberspace activists (“radical techies”) who set up independent digital infrastructures (internet servers) in order to provide other activists with Internet-based communication tools that are free, secure and do not operate according to market-driven principles. These practices emerge in response to politics of enclosure and control threatening fundamental civil rights, such as the right to privacy and security of personal communications, and in reaction to the commercialization of the sector. The article explores the process of creation of autonomous zones in cyberspace, and of a collective identity which is the synthesis of individuals’ private experiences. It then looks at the action repertoire, based on the circumvention of institutions and restrictive rules, and at the emergence of strong transnational networks for knowledge exchange and self-defence among radical techies. It also seeks to understand whether these forms of radical online activism can be considered a social movement in the making, and what kind of connections these groups establish with organizations active in the field of media democratization.

Cite as

Milan, S. (2009). “We Wanted to Do It Ourselves. Dimensioni sociali e tecnologiche delle pratiche emancipatorie nel campo della comunicazione digitale”, Quaderni di Sociologia, 49, pp. 43-60.