How the Internet Really Works: An Illustrated Guide to Protocols, Privacy, Censorship, and Governance - Hardcover

Article 19

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1718500297 ISBN 13: 9781718500297

Publisher: No Starch Press,US, 2021

Synopsis

An accessible, comic book-like, illustrated introduction to how the internet works under the hood, designed to give people a basic understanding of the technical aspects of the Internet that they need in order to advocate for digital rights.

A Cat's Guide to Internet Freedom is a comic book-like introduction to the technical side of the internet, narrated by a cute cat character. The book contains playful illustrations and concise explanations detailing transport protocols and basic internet infrastructure as well as larger technological concepts like security and privacy, algorithms, and Internet infrastructure governance. Readers will gain enough technical understanding to become knowledgeable about digital privacy concerns that affect every internet user.

About this title

About the Author

ARTICLE 19 is an international non-profit organization that seeks to promote, develop, and protect freedom of expression, including access to information. Headquartered in London, with regional offices in Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Senegal, Tunisia, Myanmar, and the USA. Article 19 works to bridge the knowledge gap about Internet infrastructure.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Hi! I’m Catnip.

I’ve written a guide to how the internet works for my fellow cats, I mean people, who use technology, which is most of us. It‘s for those of us who are curious about basic internet infrastructure and how it operates. I‘ve taken these basic concepts and presented them with concise, clear text alongside playful illustrations.

The guide answers questions like these:
                How does the internet work?
                What enables information to travel across the internet?
                What interferes with information traveling across the internet?
                What information is shared about users when accessing the internet?
                What control do machines have?
                Who controls the internet?
                How is power over the decentral­ized internet distributed?
                 
The chapters are broken down into questions about larger technological concepts such as transport protocols, security and privacy, algorithms and internet infrastructure governance. The guide progresses from the most fundamental concepts of how the internet works to the more complex concepts, so while each chapter is self-contained, reading from the beginning will ensure that your conceptual construction is built on foundational knowledge.

The guide ends with a chapter on how to shape the internet as an important stakeholder: the user. It is critical to expand participation in internet governance and standards setting to currently underrepresented popu­lations in technology. Furthermore, those who approach the development and use of technology in the public interest have a key role to play in ensuring that the internet, at a structural level, becomes a medium that enables social justice and human rights.

The information contained in this guide is best seen as supplementary to a practice, such as in a workshop or course, or for internet policy practitioners whose work can be strengthened with technical backing, for just two examples.

You can reach out to us with your in­terest or questions on all of the above on https://catnip.article19.org!

Edition details

• Publisher: No Starch Press,US
• Publication date: 2021
• ISBN 10: 1718500297
• ISBN 13: 9781718500297
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 100