Surveillance Valley: The Secret Army Historical past of the Web

The web is the simplest weapon the federal government has ever constructed.

On this fascinating guide, investigative reporter Yasha Levine uncovers the key origins of the web, tracing it again to a Pentagon counterinsurgency surveillance mission.

A visionary intelligence officer, William Godel, realized that the important thing to successful the conflict in Vietnam was not outgunning the enemy, however utilizing new data expertise to know their motives and anticipate their actions. This concept — utilizing computer systems to spy on individuals and teams perceived as a risk, each at residence and overseas — drove ARPA to develop the web within the Sixties, and continues to be on the coronary heart of the trendy web everyone knows and use immediately. As Levine exhibits, surveillance wasn’t one thing that abruptly appeared on the web; it was woven into the material of the expertise.

However this is not only a story in regards to the NSA or different home packages run by the federal government. Because the guide spins ahead in time, Levine examines the non-public surveillance enterprise that powers tech-industry giants like Google, Fb, and Amazon, revealing how these firms spy on their customers for revenue, all whereas doing double obligation as army and intelligence contractors. Levine exhibits that the army and Silicon Valley are successfully inseparable: a military-digital advanced that permeates every part linked to the web, even coopting and weaponizing the antigovernment privateness motion that sprang up within the wake of Edward Snowden.

With deep analysis, expert storytelling, and provocative arguments,
Surveillance Valley will change the best way you concentrate on the information — and the gadget on which you learn it.