Cryptographic imaginaries and the networked public

Abstract

This paper interrogates discourses associated with encryption in contemporary policy debates. It traces through three distinct cryptographic imaginaries -the occult, the state, and democratic values -and how each conceptualises what encryption is, what it does, and what it should do. Situating each imaginary in time through historical research, I consider how they foreground distinct configurations of power and authority. It concludes by describing the development of a new cryptographic imaginary, one which sees encryption as a necessary precondition for the formation of networked publics.

Encrypting human rights: The intertwining of resistant voices in the UK state surveillance debate

“…In the past, technical arguments and approaches to countering state surveillance were often considered the domain of the ‘geeks’ (Bennett, 2008: 82), solely residing within the campaigns of digital rights groups and wider expert communities (Levy, 2001), supported by research which highlights a lack of engagement with technical issues from civil liberties groups (Guberek and Silva, 2014). However, this appears to be shifting as encryption is presented as an important topic for many civil liberties organisations, in part due to a larger declaration at the UN level which supports an explicit link between encryption and human rights (Myers West, 2018).…”

“…Encryption sits as a key tool in this realignment. Historically associated both as a tool exclusive to the state, yet also as a facilitator for democratic values (Myers West, 2018), encryption generates significant tension between corporate and state actors. There is, however, a lack of empirical research exploring state resistance within the industry, especially considering their privileged ‘intermediary’ role.…”

Messageries fédérées

“…La « bataille » se déroule à deux niveaux : la couche infrastructurelle, avec le développement et la multiplication des instances fédérées (connues sous le nom de « Fediverse ») et la couche protocole implications politiques et économiques, ainsi que techniques (DeNardis, 2009). condition préalable nécessaire à la formation de publics en réseau (Myers West, 2018). Les révélations ont également catalysé des débats de longue date dans le domaine des protocoles de communication Record Messaging).…”

Cryptoparties: empowerment in internet security

“…Political science has been rather silent on the topic of CPs, most studies instead focusing more broadly on encryption and internet governance (Herrera, 2002;Monsees, 2020;Schulze, 2017;Myers West, 2018). Shifting the focus to the practices of CPs also allows the conceptual focus to shift away from institutions and towards more mundane and decentered practices.…”