Cyber-publics and the corporate control of online communication

Dahlberg, Lincoln (author)

The Internet has enabled many individuals and groups to articulate and contestpositions on a myriad of local, national, and international issues, thereby extending the public sphere(s) of critical communication at the heart of strong democracy. However, a number of commentators argue that this critical communication is likely to become ever more restricted given the increasing corporate ownership and control of cyberspace. In this paper, I undertake a general investigation of this corporate takeover and the limits itplaces on the possibility of the Internet extending the public sphere. Focusing primarily upon the United States, I find that the increasing ownership of the network's content, code, and bandwidth by a few huge vertically and horizontally integrated media corporations is providing the basis for the control of online communication. Content discrimination is already being undertaken by some broadband network providers. These trends suggest that the Internet is being developed toward an arena where critical voices and practices will be increasingly marginalised. Given this situation, significant steps will be needed to secure and extend online critical communication. I conclude by suggesting a number of such steps, focusing upon legislative measures that should be urgently considered by Internet researchers and policy makers

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2004
• Number of pages: Str. 77-92
• Numbering: Vol. 11, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-76557
• UDC: 3
• ISSN on article: 1318-3222
• COBISS.SI-ID: 23804253
• Publication date in RUL: 21.12.2015

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Javnost = The public
• Shortened title: Javnost
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, European Institute for Communication and Culture
• ISSN: 1318-3222
• COBISS.SI-ID: 40119808

Secondary language

• Language: Unknown
• Title: Kibernetske javnosti in korporacijski nadzor spletnega komuniciranja

Abstract

Internet je mnogim posameznikom in skupinam omogočil artikulirati in spodbijati stališča o vrsti lokalnih, nacionalnih in mednarodnih vprašanj in s tem razširil javno sfero kritičnega komuniciranja. Vendar pa so mnogi prepričani, da bo tako kritično komuniciranje vse bolj omejevano zaradi naraščajočega korporacijskega lastništva in nadzora kibernetskega prostora. Članek obravnava značilnosti korporacijskega prevzemanja in meje, ki jih postavlja razširjanju javne sfere s pomočjo interneta. Zlasti v ZDA maloštevilne vertikalno in horizontalno integrirane medijske korporacije vzpostavljajo nadzor nad spletnim komuniciranjem. Nekateri ponudniki spletnih storitev že uveljavljajo diskriminacijo glede vsebin. Te težnje nakazujejo, da se internet razvija v smer marginalizacije kritičnih glasov in praks. Potrebni bodo odločni koraki za zagotovitev in razširjanje kritičnega spletnega komuniciranja. Avtor predlaga vrsto takih korakov in predvsem zakonskih ukrepov, ki bi jih morali pretehtati raziskovalci interneta in kreatorji internetnih politik.