From Free Internet to Techno-Authoritarian Drift

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

My interview (in French) with judge Judith Allenbach of the journal Délibérée has just been published. It provides an analysis of the the Internet’s trajectory, from initial emancipation promises to contemporary techno-authoritarian drift.

Abstract

This interview traces my own journey from the Internet’s early utopias to contemporary forms of control and surveillance characterizing cyberspace. By articulating historical analysis and critical reflection, I stress how emancipatory aspirations accompanying Internet development progressively collided with commercial and security logics that profoundly transformed its nature.

New Edition: Counter-History of the Internet

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I’m really glad to announced a revised and updated French edition of Counter-History of the Internet: From the 15^th Century to Today, published by Agone, an independent publisher based in Marseille.¹ The book is adapted from my PhD in Political Studies at EHESS and offers a foucaldian reinterpretation of Jürgen Habermas’ history of the public sphere.

Publisher’s presentation

“The state control of public sphere — particularly the media — is based on centuries-old strategies that have been constantly renewed and adapted to the new reality brought about by the Internet. This technology has thus rapidly evolved from an instrument with emancipatory potential to an instrument of unprecedented state and economic power. Understanding the thread of this change requires placing this technology in a long history: that of the conflicts that have arisen each time new means of communication have been invented.

Internet on Félix Tréguer

From Free Internet to Techno-Authoritarian Drift

Abstract

New Edition: Counter-History of the Internet

Publisher’s presentation