The series Black Mirror casts its gaze into the future of technology use, often linked to media. It looks into the future at different distances: some episodes present a future far beyond any accessible anticipation, while others are barely set in the future, as the uses they depict are already part of our daily lives. Such is the case with this episode from the famous British sci-fi series by Charlie Brooker.

“Shut Up and Dance” depicts individuals who find themselves manipulated by an unidentified force because of their online activities, which range from minor misdemeanors—using prostitution services—to criminal offenses—consuming pedophilic content. Regardless of the nature of the offense, these individuals are treated equally, receiving the same directive: “Do what we ask, or proof of your activities will be sent to all your contacts.”

Evolving Online Practices

The premise of the trap that ensnares the protagonists throughout the episode is that they wrongly believed their online browsing was a matter of private life. We all make the same mistake: the ever-growing number of internet users gives us a false sense of security, and those rare few who get caught seem drowned in the crowd. In this infinite virtual space, we are all moths drawn to the glow and promises of free online services. Thus, in the third decade of the 21st century, an adage born in the early days of the internet remains true: “If it’s free, you are the product.”

Today, another certainty has emerged: our private and collective lives are steadily becoming dematerialized. Businesses and governments are transforming their practices with digital tools, and our interactions with them are increasingly conducted online: our payslips are digital, we pay taxes on digital platforms, and our first points of contact are chatbots—soon to be even more seamless thanks to generative AI, which will make their artificial nature less and less noticeable. Another example: tomorrow, and this will be a great benefit for many patients, the monitoring of our health will be done through a digital medical file, supposedly accessible only to healthcare professionals.

Following this enumeration, this episode urges us to reflect on the conditions of our digital usage. Is the internet a secure space? Should anonymity in cyberspace be maintained? And a corollary to this question: should the state assert its sovereignty in cyberspace?

The Internet of Tomorrow: Authoritarianism vs. Exaggerated Liberalism?

Some states have already provided their answers. Take China, for instance: in the name of its citizens’ “security,” anonymity online has been eliminated, especially as facial recognition is becoming an interface between the virtual and the real. China has developed its tools—state-controlled—and deployed its national network, with rules unique to this nation, which Westerners often deem oppressive (See inCyber News: “Nosedive (Black Mirror): Are We Headed Towards a Colonization of Reality by the Digital World?”).

Europe is trying to build a different relationship between citizens, authorities, and operators. The latter are private companies, aiming to capture as many users as possible and maximize revenues to fund the continuous development necessary to stay competitive. Europe’s response has several facets. First, there was the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which came into force in 2018, protecting users’ personal data on websites. Since 2024, the DMA (Digital Market Act) and DSA (Digital Service Act) specifically target the most powerful actors in the digital economy—companies known by acronyms like GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft), BATX (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi), NATU (Netflix, Airbnb, Tesla, Uber), or other newcomers. The goal is to regulate online commerce and manage the massive revenues generated by their products and services tailored for dematerialized use.

Whether in China, Europe, or elsewhere, these regulations are not fixed; they will evolve alongside future changes in how we use the internet. They will redefine the principles of online practices. However, citing the growing number of online abuse victims, some are calling for the end of online anonymity—one of the fundamental principles of how the internet operates. But isn’t asking this question risky, as it might lead to the global adoption of the Chinese model, which we know is used to suppress dissent?

In Virtual Spaces, Am I Still a Citizen of a Sovereign State?

Online anonymity is one of the guarantees allowing for activism, whistleblowing, and essential investigative journalism—the so-called fourth estate. It acts as a counterbalance to the traditional three estates (executive, legislative, and judicial) and the economic system, which is sometimes called the fifth estate. As we can see, the issue of online anonymity is vast and won’t be resolved without extensive debate. But we can still discuss and reflect on it. After all, whether we act in the tangible or virtual world, we are still operating within reality as citizens of a nation and thus within the law. There is no extraterritoriality in virtual worlds.

These questions lead us to consider the application of state sovereignty online. Will we one day have state-guaranteed electronic identities, much like passports used for international travel? Or might there even be a 911-equivalent or consulates competent for virtual worlds? These questions also concern the operators of the products and services that provide access to virtual worlds. They understand this well: Google and Apple strive to secure their browsers, VPNs are no longer just for geeks, and the end of older technologies suggests that the new ones will be more respectful of privacy—take cookies, for instance. These small files, once accepted, track our online activity.

Nevertheless, whether in the tangible or virtual world, caution is always advisable: no online content is 100% safe from malicious intent. Companies and governments are learning this lesson daily as ransomware attacks continue to rise. It’s worth remembering: computing isn’t an exact science, even though we all live in a world that urges us to rely on these very tools! It’s enough to drive one mad—or paranoid, depending on your perspective.

Who Is Homo Connecticus?

The unfortunate hero of Shut Up and Dance experiences all the pitfalls discussed throughout this commentary, much to the viewer’s dismay. As the plot unfolds, a twist—a hallmark of the series—awaits the protagonist. But the character’s suffering doesn’t end there. Caught in the gears of a machine that is grinding him down, he falls victim to an updated version of a practice—or at least an urban legend—dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. Back then, there were films that circulated under the radar, appealing to fans of ultraviolence. These were known as snuff movies. Of varying length and quality, these films depicted real-life combat to the death, torture, and rape. The victims were not supposed to be actors, and the films were alleged to have been shot live. Surrounded by scandal, and rightly so, these films have entered popular culture, inspiring numerous feature films. Shut Up and Dance is a modern variant, in the internet age.

So, should the freedom cherished in the West, when practiced online, be guaranteed at the expense of the proper administration of justice? Should we rely on the state—still largely unarmed when it comes to virtual worlds—to ensure our digital security? Or perhaps we need to examine our online behavior: what gives us the right to assume that virtuality and anonymity grant us license? The many forms of violence pouring onto social networks hardly advocate for an unbridled love of Homo Connecticus! Or perhaps what we see online is a reflection of humanity’s inherent complexity. Plenty of food for thought on the nature of humanity!

Stay tuned in real time
Subscribe to
the newsletter
By providing your email address you agree to receive the Incyber newsletter and you have read our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in all our emails.
Stay tuned in real time
Subscribe to
the newsletter
By providing your email address you agree to receive the Incyber newsletter and you have read our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in all our emails.