As you well know, within the rich Netflix catalog it is possible to find the most varied productions, from TV series to feature films, passing through documentaries. It belongs to the latter category Deep Web (2015), docu-film written and directed by Alex Winter, which will lead the viewer to discover the darkest ravines of the network.
In these 89 minutes we have had the opportunity to deepen our knowledge on the so-called "dark web" and related policies, all through the story of the most sensational case in the recent history of the internet: Silk Road.
Silk Road: the creature of Dread Pirate Roberts
Deep Web tells the dark side of the internet through the story of Ross Ulbricht, American computer scientist and creator of the most famous e-commerce portal on the darknet: Silk Road. As some may have already guessed, we are talking about the elusive Dread Pirate Roberts, condemned by the authorities for having created the "Amazon of drugs".
However, Silk Road was born with the intention of following decidedly more dignified principles, becoming an emblem of libertarianism and, more generally, of all those who considered the internet a place where they could express themselves openly, without having to take into account any government or authority that could limit free thought. And it is curious, therefore, to note how in the appropriate page on Netflix the documentary has been classified as a "Gangster Film", among other things. But Ross Ulbricht really is a criminal?
Under American law, yes, to the point of being convicted - the 29 Maggio 2015 - to thelife sentence without conditional. But what are the reasons that led to Ulbricht's arrest? What reasons prompted theFBI to rage against a quiet boy scout from Austin? Alex Winter answers these and other questions by shedding light on the most interesting background of the Ulbricht case, starting from the origins of Silk Road up to the first trials of 2015, and taking this opportunity to explore the so-called deep web.
The protagonists of this story, in addition to the aforementioned Ulbricht and the FBI itself, are the cypherpunk. We are talking about the activists who support the use and diffusion of computer cryptography, in order to ensure the privacy and security of each personal account to the citizens of the network against governments and giants of the world economy. A movement that finds in the best known Julian Assange one of the proudest representatives.
An honorable cause, which, however, has pushed cypherpunks into the sights of the authorities, earning annoying nicknames, including that of "cybercriminals". The documentary therefore presents a dual point of view and offers us the opportunity to step into the shoes of a hypothetical judge: to what extent can we speak of crime?
Bitcoin and Tor: cryptography at the service of libertarians
The problem arises when the most emblematic tools of the deep web come into play and, coincidentally, the most used by cypherpunks: Bitcoin e Tor.
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The first, as many will already know these days, is the most famous electronic money in the world, the cryptocurrency par excellence. Tor is instead an anonymous communication system based on a network protocol known as onion routing. These two tools are of great importance not only to the deep web, but also to the deep web itself Silk Road. The e-commerce site uses Bitcoin for the payments of its contraband products, while Tor is the only means by which to reach the portal.
In doing so, both Tor and Bitcoin soon became synonymous with crime, shedding bad light on the cryptography itself. To offer us interesting food for thought and possible opinions we think different personalities from the world of information technology, journalism and more. The biggest contribution came from Andy greenberg, senior writer for Wired, one of the leading experts on everything related to the cypherpunk movement and the events that have marked the history of the 'submerged web'.
We do not only owe to Greenberg the precious material with which we can deepen our knowledge of this universe. The journalist was also the first ad to interview the mysterious administrator of Silk Road, or so Dread Pirate Roberts. It is no coincidence that he was chosen by the director of the documentary as a consulting producer, allowing Winter to offer a broader and more detailed background to the news stories that see Ross Ulbricht and his infamous creation as protagonists.
Deep Web: reflect on the potential of the network
The work done by Alex Winter e soci is much more than a pleasant documentary to watch during these cold winter days. Deep web. it is a lucid fresco of modern society, a perfect analysis of the most important changes that are altering everything around us, starting with the web.
The director does not want the viewer to take a position, nor does he want to appropriate one of the opinions expressed by the experts interviewed. Winter invites us to reflect and to elaborate some considerations on the potential of the network, whether they are positive or negative. That apparent innocence that we attach to this means of communication is here dismantled, annihilated. It is at this point that the true face of the internet is revealed to us, that of a tool that can also be used for purposes that are anything but noble and that turns into the battlefield in which anarchists and governments clash.
Deep Web is also the result of an excellent work of direction and editing, with an obsessive attention to the individual details that make up both the story and the images through which we observe these events. The voice of Keanu Reeves, narrator chosen for this documentary - after all, Reeves had already worked alongside Winter (with the latter as an actor) on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Our warm advice is therefore to recover this rare work as soon as possible, undoubtedly one of the best documentaries currently available in the catalog of Netflix, but above all one of the most effective explanations of the mysterious deep web.
TagsDark Web Deep Web documentario Ross Ulbricht Silk Road Deep Web and the Silk Road case: the dark side of the internet
