Network Technology & HTML5

In Darin Barney’s “Network Technology,” I found one particular argument resonate with me. When talking about the “decentralization and control” as an influence the network technology has brought to the society, Barney concludes with the following argument: “…it is also possible that the dialectic of decentralization and control will be permanent, constitutive element of any society where uses of these technologies is widespread (66).”

To combine this with his argument about the importance of the “situation” where the technology is born, I would argue that the network technology will not only maintain in a internal dialectic of decentralization and control, but also in an external dynamic where the preexist society power relationship plays in. In fact, this is an affirmative statement to Winner’s argument that some technologies are highly compatible with certain forms of power relations (internally), but not necessarily promise such as a final outcome in a society (externally).

To use Internet as an example, the internal dialectic is embedded in the code of the webpage. The newest web language –HTML5, has generated debates and attention to its invasion to the users’ privacy. It will be increasingly difficult for Internet users to escape data collection. The original animosity desired by the user of the Internet (army) is no longer needed, and we have come to an age where the commercial potential of the Internet is highly valued. However, I doubt if the creator of the HTML5 also intend to encourage authoritarian surveillance by the code’s functionality. But it is not hard to see how this new function would possibly be used in an authoritarian country like China, where the government surveillance is extremely high over the information flow on the net. There are cases of the government tracing down and imprison the dissident civilians. Will the HTML5 permit much more convenience to this kind of act? With the same technology, we can see very different use of it due to the distinctive situation it is being used.