Chokepoints

In January 2012, millions participated in the now-infamous &ldquo;Internet blackout&rdquo; against the&#160;<I>Stop Online Piracy Act</I>, protesting the power it would have given intellectual property holders over the Internet. However, while SOPA&rsquo;s withdrawal was heralded as a victory for an open Internet, a small group of corporations, tacitly backed by the US and other governments, have implemented much of SOPA via a series of secret, handshake agreements. Drawing on extensive interviews, Natasha Tusikov details the emergence of a global regime in which large Internet firms act as regulators for powerful intellectual property owners, challenging fundamental notions of democratic accountability.&#160;