On The Net

Does the state have the right to know what its citizens are doing? Should parents be able to find out everything their kids get up to? On The Net addresses one of today’s most hotly debated topics, pitching security against freedom, and surveillance against privacy. «The internet is the second big bang. Everything is possible, because everything’s free,« writes the 15-year-old Joris. When his friend Emil gets him access to Iris, a data-empowered contact lens, Joris can’t believe his luck. Wearing Iris means that its user is always online, always connected, controlling the device using eye movements and thoughts that it can read. Emil and Joris submerge themselves completely in their virtual world of computer games, Ida can finally compose better music and their homework practically does itself. When a system error creates an avatar called AI, Joris discovers new ways of scanning and manipulating internet data streams. But his activities don’t stay secret for long. As the pressure on Joris grows, Emil and Ida also realise that the system possesses private information which it will not hesitate to use against them.