Andrew Clement, Univ of Toronto

Denver 2015: Policy

This exhibit uses the IXmaps.ca internet mapping service to enable people to view the paths their internet traffic follows, and where along the way these may pass through the interception facilities the National Security Agency (NSA) has installed at major switching centres. The Snowden revelations have confirmed the extraordinary scope of the NSA’s hitherto secret spying programs, but precisely how, where and who is affected is much less clear. The Internet Exchange Mapping (IXmaps.ca) research project has since 2009 been collecting and mapping user-generated traceroutes. It provides an interactive interface so that individuals can generate their own traceroutes to specific websites as well as explore these routings to determine where their communication may have been captured en route. IXmaps is part of a wider ‘policy probing’ surveillance research program which seeks to render more transparent and democratically accountable the hidden surveillance practices increasingly embedded with everyday life.  

Videos: https://vimeo.com/67102223; https://www.youtube.com/embed/pvdIB5vr4cw?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=1