A bit of background first...
At the IPTO, Licklider got Lawrence Roberts to start a project to make a network, and Roberts based the technology on the work of Paul Baran,[4] who
had written an exhaustive study for the United States Air Force that recommended packet switching (opposed to circuit switching) to achieve better
network robustness and disaster survivability. UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock had provided the theoretical foundations for packet networks in 1962,
and later, in the 1970s, for hierarchical routing, concepts which have been the underpinning of the development towards today's Internet. After much
work, the first two nodes of
what would become the ARPANET were interconnected between UCLA's School of
Engineering and Applied Science and SRI International (SRI) in Menlo Park,
California, on October 29, 1969.
Link
So we have here the beginnings of the internet. What that implies is that the
implementation of a global communications system was started about a half century ago. This not only included the research prior to the
implementation of the early networks but continued research and the establishment of resources for the production of the materials that would
ultimately be integrated into societal
infrastructure. That is essentially a given based on the dates provided. What is not necessarily a given is the idea that the integration of the
internet into widespread use was considered from a sociological perspective. If higher educational institutions and government were the first to use
computer networks then it is not a far stretch to consider that there was much consideration given to the social dynamics of populace interaction and
as well the type of media that would be shared and discussed online.
While I cannot find any intelligence reports pre internet integration (am thinking about a potential FOIA request) the fact that government censorship
and regulation of the internet is becoming more and more of a spotlighted issue is indeed an indication that it is an important matter for
consideration. Mostly, though, I think that efforts to censor or regulate the internet are corporately motivated, however we are seeing
political/social motivations...as demonstrated by the following -
In a 2008 academic paper, President Barack Obama's appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs advocated "cognitive
infiltration" of groups that advocate "conspiracy theories" like the ones surrounding 9/11.
The price of credibility is that government cannot be seen to control the independent experts."
Link
The last sentence in the above excerpt suggests to me that our intelligence has been interacting with strategies on how best to effect non mainstream
communications without overt interaction.
At any rate, while the idea of government sponsored agents to provide contradictory reactions to non mainstream stories is an old and assumed
strategy, the integration of coding protocols in search engines is what prompted this thread.
The following is a patent that was filed for a program referred to as such - "Method To Inhibit The Identification And Retrieval Of Proprietary Media
Via Automated Search Engines Utilized In Association With Computer Compatible Communications Network"...or more simply put, a way to prevent or make
more difficult a search for links that specifically look for owned or priviliged information/copyrighted medias through the internet.
Consequently what is needed is a method of article of manufacture to render media search engines built into Napster, Gnutella, and other media sharing
network clients unusable. This is accomplished via the instant invention's processing capabilities which provide for the systematic manufacture and
sharing of decoy files resembling proprietary media. When the instant invention is properly deployed, a user searching of such media recieves a high
proportion of decoy hits. The instant invention's technology makes these decoy "hits" difficult to discern from real hits, and manifests lengthy
download times to frustrate users and discourage use of search engines for desired media.
Link
The above patented, while specifing illegal music downloads as example, shows that there was a strategy developed to dilute certain search queries
with generic links in order to increase the difficulty of finding a direct and efficient link to the desired media.
While the above patent is directed towards copyrighted music, there is no reason to not consider the possibility of such strategies to frustrate
search queries for other types of information. While the consideration may indeed be on the paranoid side, it does bear considering, especially since
legislation is being proposed in various forms to inhibit access to information or to direct information seekers to the online versions of the classic
media propagators.
A Call To Legislate Internet Privacy...Or The Stifling Of Smaller
Media Sites By Restricting Third Party Advertising
The internet is a major social initiative, one that has been carefully plotted for decades even before the populace was aware of the possibility. To
assume, or neglect, that there has been intelligence interaction with the social and economic ramifications of such an integration is potentially
irresponsible on our part. The focus of this thread is not only to point this out but as well to showcase an example of a very subtle program
designed to adversely effect the efficiency a web user to locate specific links (though focused on music in the above example, the cross genre
application is not a far fetched consideration). It would be an interesting effort to locate other examples and strategies...as well as to identify
intelligence reports if possible regarding the very broad implications upon society that the internet has created.
Perhaps the idea of a Disinfo Agent is not where we as a Conspiracy Community should be soley focused. As demonstrated, there are more subtle ways
for information to be 'hidden'. Though I contend that at times the best way to look for the most meaningful possibilities is to go to the
journals...
