Social Teletext Network

The Social Teletext Network is an alternative social network. It uses analogue television broadcasting to provide a wireless communication infrastructure.

When in 2012 most of the broadcasting television channels in the UK switched from analogue to digital broadcasting, the analogue spectrum frequencies becoming free.

Users can communicate without depending on network providers or governmental institutions, because the network users themselves maintain the network.

The Social Teletext Network was on display at Royal College of Art Show 2013, AND Festival Liverpool 2013 and Databit Arles 2014.

The project is part of the Post Cyberwar series that offers three appropriate methods to prepare for an Internet kill switch after a cyberwar.

• OpenPositioningSystem (Navigation)
• Social Teletext Network (Data streaming)
• Sewer Cloud (Data storage)

Background

An Internet kill switch is a countermeasure against cybercrime; it is based on the concept of activating a single shutting-off mechanism for all Internet traffic. The theory behind a kill switch is the creation of a single point of control managed by one authority in order to shut down the Internet to protect it from unspecified assailants. The prospect of cyber warfare over the 2000s prompted US officials to draft special legislation for the Internet, but the implications of actually “killing” the Internet has spurred worldwide criticism. During the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, access to the Internet was restricted in an effort to limit online peer networking that would facilitate self-organization. Despite the controversial effects of shutting off access to information, the activation of a kill switch remains an issue to be resolved.

Credits

Production Assistant: Lana Z. Porter
Booklet design: Henrik Nieratschker