The internet is a physical structure, geolocated and intersected by power dynamics. Cables, satellites, antennas, servers, computers, cell phones, extractivism, programmed obsolescence, electronic waste, running coding, content moderation… there is a lot of materiality and labor involved in making everything work! Who holds power over each segment of this complex structure? From which territories are the mineral resources being extracted for this technology to exist? Where is all the electronic waste being disposed of? Who benefits from connectivity, and who is left behind? What values are embedded in the algorithms? Who profits? Who is surveilled? What are the colonial relations that remain in digital technologies? 

The Internet is a territory in dispute, a struggle that impacts the futures of our democracies and possible paths towards climate and socio-environmental justice. To better understand a territory, a map always helps. It was with this purpose that we created the project cartografiasdainternet.org/en, developed by Coding Rights, in collaboration with the Transfeminist Network of Digital Care and supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation Brazil. The project was conceived by Joana Varon and Clarote, with research contributions from Bruna Zanolli.

The idea of developing a cartography that illustrates the physical and geopolitical dimensions of the internet’s structure is an attempt to materialize the cloud. The term ‘cloud’ refers to a tech imaginary that exists in the absence of a place or territory, something immaterial, abstract, timeless, and apolitical.

Drawing cartographies is a living experience. Maps are updated as territories change and the perspective of the cartographer evolves. Therefore, not all territories and aspects of the internet have been mapped in this exercise, but gradually, we will update this cartography with new information and perspectives. The first version of the map was presented at FOSPA – the PanAmazonian Social Forum, held in Belém do Pará in July 2022, in a workshop in partnership with the Transfeminist Network of Digital Care. Since then, many discussion circles have followed in Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Mexico City, and Vancouver.
To access the map: cartografiasdainternet.org/en