Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

In the current climate of warring tribes on the Internet, social media platforms are singled out as the culprits of misinformation. However, if we look at the way the Internet has evolved, particularly in the US, we see a much larger design flaw. Monopoly Internet Service Providers (MISPs) have transformed access and use of this ubiquitous tool. Commonly expressed as a “dumb” network with “smart” terminals, the Internet was envisaged as the contemporary expression of Habermas’ public sphere. This was to be a utopian space with equal access to information, equal opportunity to expression, and an open public debate. Lawrence Lessig and Robert W. McChesney argued that the end-to-end principle behind the design of the Internet is what has made it such a success (“All of the intelligence is held by producers and users, not the networks that connect them.”) In this view, government intervention and regulation were seen as the greatest danger to this success. But the impact of MISPs, whose high prices and imposed limitations of infrastructure have created a digital divide based on class and access, has upended the original intent of end to end. This class divide is exacerbated by the use of traditional means of monetizing platfoms with advertising that pays for higher ratings (more clicks and shares) and the implementation of “If it bleeds, it leads” strategy to gain ratings. In this atmosphere, it is time to re-envisage the design of our access to the Internet, not simply the platforms we use on it.