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Black Code

  • 20162016
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
192
YOUR RATING
Black Code (2016)
Trailer for Black Code
Play trailer2:11
3 Videos
4 Photos
  • Documentary
  • Action
  • Crime
A look at the global impact the internet has on free speech, privacy and activism.A look at the global impact the internet has on free speech, privacy and activism.A look at the global impact the internet has on free speech, privacy and activism.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
192
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Nicholas de Pencier
  • Stars
    • Ron Deibert
    • Felipe Altenfeldor
    • Wjd Dhnie
Top credits
  • Director
    • Nicholas de Pencier
  • Stars
    • Ron Deibert
    • Felipe Altenfeldor
    • Wjd Dhnie
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos3

    Black Code
    Trailer 2:11
    Black Code
    Black Code
    Clip 2:55
    Black Code
    Black Code
    Clip 1:30
    Black Code

    Photos

    Black Code (2016)
    Black Code (2016)
    Black Code (2016)
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    Top cast

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    Ron Deibert
    Ron Deibert
    • Self
    Felipe Altenfeldor
    Wjd Dhnie
    Golog Jigme
    • Self…
    Jon Karlung
    Tadesse Kersmo
    • Self
    Sabeen Mahmud
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Felipe Pecanha
    Edward Snowden
    Edward Snowden
    • Self
    Kanyag Tsering
    • Self…
    Charlotte Xia
    Charlotte Xia
    • CS Patient
    • Director
      • Nicholas de Pencier
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Technically nothing new for me, but I'm biased as IT security consultant, for many years interested in related subjects, partly professionally and partly personal interests
    Saw this at the Movies That Matter film festival 2017 in The Hague. The primary topic of this movie is that surveillance can be used for good and bad purposes. An important example shown in this movie was indeed thought provoking. Images shot by the crowd were collected and used against the police, who at first indicted Bruno for having thrown a Molotov cocktail to a policeman. In retrospect, the actual offender proved to be an undercover policeman, who was tasked to demonstrate that the riots were serious and that the police should catch the perpetrator no matter what. We see this often, being a common tactic to provoke a forceful reaction from military or police, and to justify any means to achieve that goal. This time, luckily, the officials were forced to backpedal. Only one day later, when confronted with undeniable evidence, the police changed their position and released Bruno from prison, and the news media followed suit. We know the term crowd sourcing for raising money, and the above example showed that we can invent the term sub-veillance for this purpose, as the people's variant of sur-veillance, indeed a thought-provoking concept.

    Strictly speaking, there is nothing very novel or revolutionary about it, given TV-programs like America's Most Wanted, Crimewatch UK, or the likes we see in many other countries. Common theme is that the viewer's assistance is solicited for an ongoing police investigation. Yet, the topic of this movie is something else. Said programs usually are on the lookout for tips after official investigations went dead. But sub-vaillance has other goals than helping the authorities, it differs 180 degrees from aforementioned TV-programs. It looks for yet unknown pictures and images with a heavy impact on public opinion when shown, though typically not in favor of the police or authorities in general.

    The second main topic of this movie is that surveillance is commonly used by two very different parties. Firstly, we see it in the form used by commercial companies, who process personal data for their own corporate goals, like showing tailored adverts, or showing products you may be interested to buy, or collecting statistics about visitors. Secondly, we see it actively used by government and law enforcement to control people, to prevent crime and related matters, goals everyone deems important, no matter the side effects. Both use cases can work in our advantage or against it, but mostly a confusing mixture.

    The final Q&A after the screening brought a very relevant question forward from the audience, whether the companies selling hacking tools are to be considered criminal organizations and thus deserve to be prosecuted. There was a recent discussion about this in Dutch parliament, with an outcome that was not exactly the one we were hoping for. On one hand, official policy is to get zero-day vulnerabilities fixed because eliminating these problems makes the internet safer overall. On the other hand, the police can add these to their toolbox and are thus not prepared to stop using these, nor are they willing to be open about their use. The latter was demonstrated in recent court cases about the covert usage by law enforcement of so-called IMSI catchers, aka Stingray. These devices masquerade as cell towers and trick mobile phones into making a connection, thereby facilitating the interception of private phone data. There is much secrecy about it being used, and the outcome is still unsure. In said court cases, the police were not mentioning the tools used to obtain evidence in fear of being declared invalid material for the prosecution, and thus dismissed from the court case, maybe even leading to a mistrial or a lesser sentence.

    All in all, this movie presents interesting material and thus discusses interesting issues, that should interest everyone. It is important for daily users of the seducing information and social interaction tools on their computers and smartphones. And that "everyone" also includes politicians, who expect (too) much of the technical tools offered to law enforcement and governmental institutions. These politicians and are only prepared to consider the negative side effects when a scandal appears in the news media.
    helpful•3
    0
    • JvH48
    • Oct 4, 2018

    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 25, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Canada
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kod czarny
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production company
      • Mercury Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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