Choice Review

Lingel (Univ. of Pennsylvania) identifies three aspects of the gentrification of physical space that have been imported to cyberspace: displacement, isolation, and commercialization, "all of which limit freedom for individuals in order to support the interests of major tech companies" and all of which are the deliberate result of policy implementation and the valuing of one set of interests over another, less profitable set. Among the issues addressed are the consolidation of ownership under five major tech companies and a similar consolidation of ownership of the infrastructure necessary to access the internet. Lingel's goal is to inspire internet users to find ways to protect privacy and individual freedom as well as establish space for more diverse communities than implemented algorithms allow. The book comprises five chapters, the first of which ("Gentrification Online and Off") outlines the concept of gentrification and introduces how it will be addressed in the following chapters: "The People and Platforms Facebook Left Behind," "Problems of Big Tech," and "Fight for Fiber." Lingel's concluding chapter ("Resistance") suggests how activists and others can effect change. Citations and footnotes are omitted to make the text more accessible to a general readership, but this omission unfortunately limits the book's usefulness to researchers. Summing Up: Optional. Lower-division undergraduates. General readers. --Susan Clerc, Southern Connecticut State University