Megan Botha

Globalized platform companies such as Amazon expand their monopoly through corporate espionage, in order to obtain consumer data for their financial benefit. They collaborate with privatized broadband companies to form data centres, that operate between governed networks, in order to avoid detection. To combat this, the public will form a ceremony to reclaim their power over the city, by isolating the privatized networks and removing their access to the public’s data. “Operation Faraday” utilises guerilla-architecture to create a DIY Faraday Cage to stop the flow of data between these places in the city and the spaces of public occupation.

The Faraday Cage covers the buildings within the CBD that do not have access to the public Wi-Fi networks. These spaces become reliant on privatized broadband networks and are key zones for corrupt activities to take place. The Faraday cage needs to isolate the network within those zones from the rest of the city, to prevent the public from using those signals and to avoid having their data stolen.

The materials used for the intervention have to be aluminium in order for it to act as a Faraday Cage around the existing structure. The Faraday “mesh” is made up of household items that can be found in the kitchen, living area or garage of people’s homes. The structure however is made up of scrap electrical wiring to weave the pieces together and form the barrier.

The public collaborates and unifies to work together as they each bring their own personal input from their homes to form the Faraday cage. The weaving and construction takes place in the streets before it is connected to the mass structure.

The guerrilla architecture is successful in cutting off the signals from within those spaces out to the public. This leaves Amazon workers defeated as they cannot gain access to anyone’s personal data, and prevent rapid monopolies to be formed.

The ceremony explores the conflict surrounding the conduct of corporate espionage in order for companies to expand their monopolies. The ceremony represents the step by step choreography of the public reclaiming their control. These steps allow for the ceremony to be successful and can be repeated in order to recreate the same intervention in other cities.