MAS110

Hi, my name is Wade Robertson and this is my MAS110 Major assignment which poses the topic idea: //How the use of DPI by governments and organisations contrasts the ‘Hacker Ethic’ belief that all information should be accessible to all?// This format is a choose your own adventure style that branches into differing story lines. It shows that although freedom of information is a good idea, it isn't ideal for everyone to have access to all information ''Click here to [[begin|Beginning]]'' ''or'' ''Click here for [[references]]''

The voice seems resilient "One of those 'has to know everything' kind of CEO's are we?" "DPI is short for deep packet inspection, it is a rather recent technology which allows us to not only scan the header to find out where it's coming from and where it's going, it also allows us to see all the data contained in that packet, whether it be images, texts, files or applications. All this is done in real time and only uses one piece of equipment."(Bendrath and Mueller, 2011, p. 1144)" The voice continues "Some believe that all information should be free." (Levy, 1984, p. 40) <center>''What do you do?'' [[Ask about pro's and con's|I'm listening...]] ''or'' [[Back out, this sounds too invasive|Back out]]</center>

"What are the pro's and con's" you inquire. The voice audibly sighs "With this technology we can effectively monitor, speed up, slow down, block, filter, make decisions about the traffic of our users, all based on the knowledge of what kind of information they are transmitting (Bendrath and Mueller, 2011, p. 1143) We could use this to throttle the speed of people who use high amounts of our bandwidth with illegal downloads while letting legal users have higher speeds. It would certainly get those pesky music and Hollywood industry types off our back." "What about the con's?" you respond. "Oh there aren't many" the voice replies "Some say you could be infringing on privacy, affecting the flow of free information, infringing on intellectual property protection online and other internet governance issues. Also we could lose customers if they find out we're monitoring their data... Also we may be much more liable for the illegal activities our customers get up to if we know something about it."(Bendrath and Mueller, 2011, p. 1143-1155) <center>''What do you do?'' [[Are they mad? Those con's far outweigh the pro's!|Back out]] ''or'' [[Having a lot more control does seem like a good idea|Approve]] </center>

You decide the DPI isn't for your company. "That's too bad. I'm sure the board won't be happy. We'll meet shortly." the voice says curtly. "Oh by the way you have a call on line one, it is an unknown caller." <center> [[Take the call on line two.|Stranger]] </center>

"Alright let's do it" you announce "by implementing DPI, not only can we monitor illegal users and report them to the authorities we can also make sure our law abiding customers get the maximum benefit of our service. This will also relieve pressure from industries who believe we are protecting copyright piracy." "Excellent" chimes the voice. "Now that all that is in order, there is someone here who wants to meet with you. They're taking over the call now". "Hello there!" The new voice exclaims "I hear you've decided to implement DPI technology. Let me introduce myself. My name is Big Wig from 'Ominous Marketing Solutions' and I have a lucrative offer I'd like to propose to you." [["Lucrative deal?"|Money?]] you hear yourself say.

You become aware... "Congratulations! You're the new CEO of 'Generic ISPs Inc.'" says a bodiless voice. "First order of business. We need you to just sign here for the new DPI technology to be implemented" continues the voice. "//Wait a minute!?//" you think out loud [["//What's DPI???//"|Question]]

Big wigs voice picks up an excited tone with your inquiry "Yes, very lucrative! We're prepared to offer you impressive dollars if you do us a tiny little favour." "What kind of favour?" you reply suspiciously. Big Wig audibly licks their lips "Well, in the business we call it //Ad injection//. With the use of DPI technology you have the ability to inject advertisements into websites that match the interests of your users. You are able to gather that information by making detailed analysis of what they send and receive, we call this method behavioural targeting" (Bendrath and Mueller, 2011, p. 1145) <center> ''What do you do?'' [[Money's money...|Take Deal]] ''or'' [[No way, that's stepping over the line|Decline Deal]] ''or'' [[This DPI seems too unethical, get rid of it!|Too late]]

"Excellent! Well my people will be in touch with your people to work out the details"Big Wig quickly answers excitedly. Life continues pretty quietly at Generic ISPs Inc until one day someone leaks the story to the press and when you turn up work there is absolute [[mayhem||mayhem times 2]].

"That's too bad... Well keep it in mind in case you change your decision"Big Wig finally answers despondently. Life continues pretty quietly at Generic ISPs Inc until one day someone leaks the story to the press and when you turn up work there is absolute [[mayhem]].

The building is on fire and there is a violent angry mob out the front with torches and everything! You knew it was a bad idea to wear your big CEO badge today. ''Conclusion:''//Freedom of information to everyone may seem like a good idea, but even if you have the best of intentions, people are still going to be unhappy with you controlling their access to information and reading through their private files.// The angry crowd descends on you and with a flurry of kicks and punches you soon drift off into a state of [[unconsciousness|Beginning]].

The building is on fire and there is a violent angry mob out the front with torches and everything! You knew it was a bad idea to wear your big CEO badge today. ''Conclusion:''//Freedom of information to everyone may seem like a good idea, but it's people like you who have greed and power on the mind that give a great example of why it won't work, people are going to be really upset when they find out you have been violating their privacy to manipulate them into buying things// The angry crowd descends on you and with a flurry of kicks and punches you soon drift off into a state of [[unconsciousness|Beginning]].

''References'' Fuchs, Christian (2013) Societal and ideological impacts of deep pack inspection internet surveillance. //Information, Communication & Society,//16(8) p. 1328-1359 Ralf, Bendrath., Mueller, Milton. (2011) The end of the net as we know it? Deep packet inspection and internet governance. //New Media & Society.// 13(7) p. 1142-1160 Levy, Steven (1984). Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution, Doubleday, New York, pp 39–49

"That's too bad... Well keep it in mind in case you change your decision"Big Wig finally answers despondently. "I've changed my mind! Get rid of the DPI, I don't want it!" you yell hoping the original voice responds. "That really is unfortunate" the voice chimes in quietly "Things started off so well. Unfortunately the board of executives have decided your no longer fit to run this company and you have been [[dismissed]]"

You arrive home furious! //How dare they sack me just because I made a choice based on my own ethics!// You scream internally. You just on the computer to start letting the world know of what's happening. Everything you try to submit is blocked. Your internet speed slows right down, to a standstill almost. You're going to have to do this the old fashioned way and write a letter. ''Conclusion:'' Now 'Generic ISPs Inc' has the power to manipulate their users content to make sure nothing they don't want gets put on the internet. They have too much power and it's stopping you from exposing them. Now you have to write a letter... You finish your letter with all the information. You're about to go post it when there is a knock on the door. As you open your front door you see two large men standing in front of you. One grabs you and you feel a small jab in the side of your neck. You quickly slip into [[unconsciousness|Beginning]].

"Greetings" announces the stranger. "My name is Manin Cognito and I work for a group which is trying to make people aware and stop the distribution of DPI technology, especially to countries of civil unrest. We congratulate you on your decision not to spy on your customers" "Civil unrest? What do you mean?" you question. "Using DPI technology, governments in power hold the upper hand to repress protests and silence those that would have a differing political opinion. Using the information that they collect through DPI, they are able to identify the opposition and people who speak out against them and torture or imprison them." (Fuchs, 2013, p. 1328-1329) "All we wish from your company is a signature and show of support against using this kind of technology to spy on the people." <center> ''What do you do'' [[Sign petition|Sign]] ''or'' [[Don't sign petition|Don't sign]] </centre>

"Thank you, your support is appreciated." ''Conclusion:''Freedom of information when in the wrong hands is definitely not a good thing. If governments are using private information to oppress and torture people, It's reasonable to suggest that by selecting this path you somewhat agree. That night as you lay your head on your pillow and close your eyes you feel a sense of peace wash over you as you slowly drift to [[sleep|Beginning]].

"Maybe you should think on it and get back to me" states the voice, clearly displeased. ''Conclusion:'' The use of spying to secretly torture and attack people goes against the very thing democracy stands for and the freedom to your own beliefs. Forcing people into your way of thinking is does not make things better and goes against what the Hackers believed. (Levy, 1984, p. 40) You should think on that. That night you have a lot of trouble going to sleep and the first light of the next day starts to show before you finally [[drift off|Beginning]]