Abstract

With the mass commercialisation of the internet, the parallel development of the databasing capacities of digital archives, and the consequent increasing value of stored information, data leaks have dramatically come to the fore of contemporary societies. The question of how leaks intervene, however, is still under debate. Many a time, such processes of mediation exceed a rational understanding of the information revealed. In this sense, leaks attempt to mobilise accidents, to trigger unpredictable consequences. This paper advances the question of how data leaks, as a form of media dissent, operate beyond representation, touching the vital realm of affect.