A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #349 - TOTAL SCREEN: Resisting the computerization of our lives means opposing capital's grand industrial project (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A few days after the unfavorable judicial verdict against the 
continuation of construction on the A69, we cannot overemphasize the 
importance of the territorial struggles and ZADs (decentralized urban 
areas) that have proliferated across France over the past fifteen years. 
Not only do these struggles foster anti-capitalist consciousness and 
practices in society, but they also concretely push back industrial 
projects that their promoters considered "a done deal." They have 
prevented numerous "small" disasters in many parts of France, for the 
residents of many towns, many rivers, and many trees.
At Total Screen, we uphold a refusal that is not embodied in a 
particular geographical space-a wetland, a working-class neighborhood, a 
coastline, a forest, a valley. We are fighting, we are trying to fight, 
against the computerization of the world: the computerization of work, 
the computerization of everyday life and human relations, the 
computerization of administrations, etc. In our eyes, this is typically 
a major industrial project that is useless-harmful-to human beings and 
essential for capital to continue its expansion. A project that is not 
the subject of any political debate: have you ever heard of a 
"democratic" or "citizen" consultation, even a sham one, on the 
advisability of manufacturing and making indispensable millions of 
telephones or laptops? Of creating an Internet of Things and "artificial 
intelligence"? Of digitizing Pôle Emploi or the National Education system?

On the other hand, it is true that this major project is also moving 
forward because it meets aspirations, desires, and fantasies among the 
population. Digital technologies are accepted with enthusiasm by some, 
and when it is not with enthusiasm, it is with the feeling that it does 
not pose a fundamental political problem. We believe there is a serious 
problem. We believe that, these days, we cannot combat labor 
exploitation, socially and ecologically devastating consumerism, and 
political powerlessness without opposing the digitalization of our lives.

The impact of the digital system on natural environments remains, 
despite some cracks in the consensus, a major unresolved issue of our 
time, even in protest circles. The manufacture of smartphones and 
tablets, semiconductors and RFID chips, cell towers and batteries is 
extraordinarily resource-intensive and destructive of metals, energy, 
and water. Electricity consumption linked to network operation and data 
storage is exploding as our lives are absorbed by the internet, making 
the digital system a greater contributor to greenhouse gas emissions 
than air travel. So, what "solution" is the political-industrial 
oligarchy proposing to save the planet and the climate? Digitize. Place 
electronic sensors and chips everywhere. Use software and robots to 
control energy consumption and pollution. "Plug, baby plug."

There is no "Great Reset." In the face of ecological and social 
catastrophe, there is a radicalization of the old industrial capitalist 
project of mastering nature and rationalizing human beings, in order to 
extract profit and power from it. Whether it is called "energy 
transition," "decarbonization," or "smart renewable energy grids," the 
lever of this radicalization is digital technology. Few regions will be 
spared this industrial radicalization: a surge in wind turbines and 
solar panels, in addition to new nuclear reactors; an increase in cell 
towers; a proliferation of data centers, and then mines. The recent 
announcement of the reopening of an old mining site in Allier to extract 
lithium in large quantities heralds the beginning of a new phase: it 
will become much more difficult not to make the connection between the 
industrial predations specific to this or that space and the Grand 
Capitalist project of total digitalization.

What does our political practice consist of?

First, we seek to liberate critical voices about digital technology, 
which too rarely dare to be heard at all levels of society. Our meetings 
(twice a year at the national level; many others at the local level) are 
above all open spaces to allow people in distress, faced with conformity 
and digital constraints, to talk about what is happening to them at work 
and in their daily lives, to express out loud what they can no longer 
bear. For ten years, we have been reaching out to unions and trade 
unionists to encourage them to address the digital issue; we participate 
in union training sessions to share our analyses and avenues for action.

We advocate civil disobedience against digital totalitarianism. We want 
to build solidarity (including financial solidarity) among those seeking 
to escape it: we raised funds to support livestock farmers who publicly 
refused to have their animals microchipped; we set up funds that helped 
healthcare workers maintain their refusal of mandatory Covid 
vaccination, and fueled the broader rejection of the Health Pass in 2021.

We are acting on two fronts: making life without screens desirable (a 
cultural battle) and opposing government and industry policies that 
accelerate digitalization (a political battle). Since 2018, we have 
regularly carried out actions in Pôle emploi and CPAM agencies, in SNCF 
train stations, and on trains, against the disappearance of public 
service counters. We have raised concerns about the digital identity 
projects of La Poste and the European Commission. Finally, we 
participate in mobilizations against computer hardware production sites: 
the semiconductor factories in Grenoble, the Arkema factory in Lyon, 
which produces PFAS for the chip industry, and mines (in France and Congo).

In all the territories we inhabit, we want to strengthen or build 
resistance movements and implement alternatives. These movements need to 
equip themselves with autonomous tools and resources (supply networks, 
independent newspapers, shared craft workshops, etc.) AND they also need 
to be part of the essential vision of decomputerizing their practices 
and society as a whole. Total Screen Occitanie, March 15, 2025
Resisting the management and computerization of our lives
against industrial capitalism, for the construction of new imaginaries

From June 27 to 29, 2025 in Villard (23)
Organize against the computerization of society.

We realize more and more every day how harmful the invasion of digital 
technology in our lives is (social relations, work, health, the 
environment, not to mention widespread surveillance and algorithmic 
management of populations).

However, we believe that it is not inevitable, and that it is urgent to 
measure and question its concrete consequences, as well as to denounce 
the illusion of proposing a solution to "crises" through technology when 
its expansion is one of the causes.

The June 15 Committee, formed in support of our friends arrested on June 
15, 2021[1], invites you to two days of meetings and discussions against 
the digitalization of society. They will also allow us to express our 
solidarity with all those facing the justice system's rigors, accused of 
actions that are simply a reflection of a social anger shared by many.

These meetings will not take place without you!
Join us at Le Villard, in Royère-de-Vassivière, from June 27 to 29.

We invite you to arrive on Friday evening to meet and set up, on stage 
and with music.

We will continue on Saturday with a brief focus on repression in the 
digital age with Serge Quadruppani and La Quadrature du Net. On Saturday 
afternoon, we will dissect the material foundations of these 
technologies with Célia Izoard and the Stop Mines collectives of Allier, 
Haute-Vienne, Dordogne, and Creuse. Fabien Le Brun and Génération 
Lumière will allow us to question the impossibility of relocating these 
mines by presenting the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
The Stop Micro collective (fighting against the SOITEC and 
STMicroelectronics factories) will discuss the uses of microchips 
produced in Grenoble, as well as the enormous water and energy 
consumption required for their production.

We will set aside time during the weekend to discuss the deployment of 
5G and Linky, their uses, and their impacts, with Matthieu Amiech, 
Nicolas Bérard, and the Écran Total collective. We plan to conclude with 
a period of symbolic action and a joint statement, followed by a closing 
assembly that will allow us to share new perspectives.

The June 15 Committee
More information to follow on the La Bogue website

Notes
[1]On June 15, 2021, the "anti-terrorist" crackdown (SDAT, GIGN, and 
other PSIG) in Limousin targeted several people suspected of setting 
fire to Enedis vehicles and two cell towers (in protest against the 
Linky meter and 5G). Three people remain under investigation for 
"criminal conspiracy," to which two of them are also charged "organized 
destruction" and "harming the fundamental interests of the nation." The 
potential sentences: twenty years of criminal imprisonment for the 
alleged perpetrators, and ten years for the person prosecuted for 
criminal conspiracy. The judicial investigation has been closed since 
the end of 2024; the trial is expected soon.

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4421
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