Book Review: The Dark Net: inside the digital underground.
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Dark Net: is an overlay network within the Internet that can only be accessed with specific software, configurations, or authorization, and often uses a unique customized communication protocol.
The Dark Net: inside the digital underworld, is a broad look at the often unsavory aspects of the internet. The author (Jamie Bartlett), finds himself journeying both through meat and cyberspace, to find out more about the often illegal or morally twisted aspects of the internet.
From the get-go, one is introduced to this alternate world through the Tor hidden website, the Assassination Market. From there, the author describes the very fact that the internet as we know it today-- even the surface web-- originated on an ideological framework of Cyber/Techno-libertarianism. These libertarians sought to upend what they believed to be the evils of government, using cryptography and code to liberate themselves.
From there, the author guides the reader through worlds and communities whose very existence has been defined by the internet. These include, and are not limited to, the Bitcoin movement, the origins of internet forums and their many descendants, the alt-right, and many other niche groups who have had a stake in building this world.
Given its name, one would expect the book to be a deep dive into the Tor hidden services or a world full of hackers who steal, dupe or lie with technical precision. Although it does have a bit of that as well ( talks about the Tor drug markets like Silk Road and its efficacy), it focuses far more on a broader view of the much less pleasant aspects of the internet, than what sits on the internet as well. A few may be disappointed by this, but it definitely does not take away the fact that it is indeed a truly informational book, especially for those who want to be more acquainted with this world.
Where this book thrives is in its ability to depict historical connections between movements or groups today and the freedom-loving techno-libertarians of the 1980s and 90s. The links depicted will open the eyes of many reading the book as to why let's say... why shitposting and crude behavior has always been a normal aspect of the internet. After this, one realizes that the unseen and unsavory isn't that invisible. In fact, many of us today see these very elements in our lives such as when we delve through twitter and engage in political debates.
In doing so, the book redefines the Dark Net, not as an infrastructure, but an aspect of the internet, that needed to have the light shone on it, for better or worse. This book is for those who need a quick guide into the state of the ultra freedom-loving aspects of the internet today, and their background.
Interested? You can buy the book here.