Imperialism and the Privatization of Global Image Control

An altermondialist text warns that digital networks and technologies, while offering potential for art, also enable permanent surveillance and reduce political freedoms. It argues that imperialism has evolved from controlling territories and economies to appropriating immaterial knowledge, with a handful of global economic and financial groups now wielding more power than states. These groups, including media conglomerates, control not only entertainment and fiction but also images of historical reality, shaping what is seen and known. The text cites Ignacio Ramonet's book, noting that communication industries' revenue rose from about 1,000 billion euros in 1995 to 3,000 billion in 2010, representing 15% of global GDP. It highlights US dominance in internet governance, with agencies like IANA, IETF, and IAB controlling domain names and technical standards, and a massive surveillance center being built in Bluffdale, Utah. The author contends that the supposed freedom of the internet is steered by the US state, which Noam Chomsky calls 'the first terrorist state in the world.' A recent example is Facebook's 24-hour suspension of the Jeu de Paume gallery's account for posting a photo by Laure Albin Guillot, deemed against community standards. The text calls for transforming politico-economic structures rather than merely hacking or using networks from within.