Chapter 3 - Network Communications
We can see throughout our movie how M3GAN has direct access to online networks. At one instance, M3GAN took over Tess’s phone and proceeded to mimic Tess's voice to talk to Gemma and convince her that everything was fine. The only way M3GAN was able to hack into Gemma’s phone was through an online network.
M3GAN is paired with mobile devices twice. Also she searched the internet to learn and reach out across networks without any friction, as chapter 3 mentioned to stay always connected. Throughout the movie, M3GAN repeatedly accessed information via online networks to learn more about her current situation, even when she wasn’t supposed to. Being connected to a large network of online sources enabled M3GAN to learn things she was never intended to be aware of. These unauthorized events were one of the first instances where M3GAN began to rebel against Gemma, and because these events proved beneficial for M3GAN, she would continue to do things against Gemma's will because they coincidentally made M3GAN smarter.
In network communication, the idea of protecting minors online often leads to things like filtering, age gating, and parental controls, but these systems are never perfect. They’re supposed to keep kids safe, yet sometimes they end up limiting expression or cutting them off from real social interaction. In M3GAN, the doll basically acts as a 24/7 mediator for Cady, someone who listens, responds, and even speaks for her. Instead of actually protecting her, M3GAN’s constant presence isolates Cady and amplifies her emotions, which mirrors the tension talked about in Chapter 3 between “safety by design” and the messy, unpredictable outcomes that happen in real networks. You can also think of M3GAN as a living version of an online network. She connects Cady to the world and helps her open up about feeling alone, just like how online communication connects people. But, as with any network, once that system is compromised, all the personal information flowing through it can be exposed. Since M3GAN gathers data from everything Cady does and links with other connected systems throughout the movie, she ends up becoming a huge security risk herself, showing how connection and vulnerability always go hand in hand in networked environments. Later in the movie, when M3GAN is given a parental control command after she starts questioning death, it shows how those same control systems are used to restrict access to certain information, but instead of keeping her safe, it only makes her more curious and defiant, revealing how even protective filters can backfire when applied without understanding.