“You’re not even a fully formed person yet. Your face is still changing and your bones are still growing but already there’s a detailed map of your personality out there and companies you’ve never heard of are getting rich off it.”

Welcome to Octopus Inc., the internet giant that allows users to exchange personal data for currency. But not everyone is prepared to sacrifice their privacy for an easier life.

A teenager subverts the system in an attempt to save her mother. A visionary tech exec takes shortcuts to get ahead, and a cybercriminal chooses between two kinds of freedom.

Darknet navigates through the world of data transparency and the uncharted deep web, uncovering the things we choose to share online and the places in which we can hide.

“With new innovation comes fear of the unknown.”

DARKNET is the third collaboration between Rose Lewenstein and Russell Bender. Their process usually starts with a big idea. Rose always writes, Russell always directs, but they work closely together from the outset, with each phase of research, writing and development informing the next.

For more information on Darknet, visit the website here:

welcometothedarknet.co.uk

Wednesday 27 April, 10:00pm
Hacking and Human Rights

Chaired by Nathalie Nahai (author, speaker, and co-host of The Guardian Tech Podcast), this event will focus on the issues of how hacking and cyber-security interact with issues on human rights.
Panellists include Dr Ala’a Shehabi, an economist and privacy advocate. She first detected commercial spyware sent to her in 2012 described at the time as a ‘rare diamond’ which lead to research exposing the global scale of the commercial hacking industry. Today her work at the Work Foundation looks at how policy should address the way that digital technology is changing the way we work and the cybersecurity needs of businesses.

Monday 2 May, 10;00pm
The Pros and Cons of Big Data

Our final post-show event will take a look at the current state of data collection – what are we sharing willingly and unknowingly, what is it used for, how can we harness it for good and what are the risks? We will explore what corporate data collection means to our daily lives.
Panellists include Geoff White (Technology Producer, Channel 4 News).

Photographs by Lidia Crisafulli