{"id":490643,"date":"2024-10-19T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=490643"},"modified":"2024-10-19T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-19T15:00:00","slug":"a-new-role-for-government-in-our-big-tech-dominated-media-landscape-is-essential-for-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/a-new-role-for-government-in-our-big-tech-dominated-media-landscape-is-essential-for-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A new role for government in our Big Tech-dominated media landscape is essential for democracy’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To address the overwhelming influence of tech companies like Meta and Google, new integrated policies that better reflect contemporary media use are needed. During a talk for\u00a0NDP Nieuwsmedia<\/em>, Corien Prins, chair of the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), strongly pleaded for a review of the role of government in the media landscape. She said the media’s crucial democratic functions need more support<\/span>. \u201cWe cannot afford to waste time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her speech followed the recent WRR report<\/a> \u201cAttention for Media: Toward new safeguards their democratic functions,\u201d which focused on the changing context and the growing power of platforms and Big Tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is every reason to take a different look at the role and responsibility of government in the media landscape,\u201d Prins said. According to the WRR, current media policy is no longer adequate to safeguard the democratic functions of the media. Prins argued that the government must play its role much more actively and argued that current policy is based on outdated principles.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
WRR: New safeguards needed to protect the democratic functions of media in a digital age<\/div>
Scientific Council on Government Policy: \u201cJournalism essential for democracy, but Big Tech distorts the playing field.\u201d<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Prins indicated that the context in which the media operates has changed dramatically. \u201cThe supply is endless, platforms are supreme, and journalistic revenue models are under pressure.\u201d At the same time, the media remain indispensable to a healthy democratic society. The government’s job is to ensure that the media can continue to perform their three crucial democratic functions: informing citizens, monitoring power, and providing a platform for debate. \u201cHow you fill these functions is not a foregone conclusion,\u201d Prins said, \u201dbut clearly, the media system must be independent, reliable, and accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Influence of Big Tech and platforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prins warned against the ever-increasing influence of Big Tech products such as Facebook and YouTube, which primarily direct information consumption. \u201cThese companies appeal to our lowest instincts,\u201d Prins said, referring to the attention economy in which social media compete for our attention through incentives that often do not contribute to rational debate. She argued that platforms are no longer mere conduits: \u201cThey are making content choices by removing certain offerings and making specific offerings accessible through algorithms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe must act now, because the future of our democracy is at stake.\u201d<\/p>\nCorien Prins<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Corien Prins – WRR\nPhoto \u00a9 Arenda Oomen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A worrying development, according to Prins, is that fewer people consume pluralistic information. \u201cThe Media Authority found that 78% of young people pick up their news via Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.\u201d Prins wondered, \u201cHow far do we let these platforms go in directing our information consumption and thus in shaping our views on social issues? What if only a handful of primarily foreign commercial companies (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and certainly TikTok) dictate where the attention of a large portion of citizens in our Dutch society is directed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constitutional obligations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An essential part of Prins’ talk was the role of the government in ensuring freedom of expression, as enshrined in the Constitution and in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). She explained that in the past, the government’s role was mainly one of aloofness, but because of the power of Big Tech, this must now change. \u201cDevelopments in the media landscape also call for a review of the interpretation of constitutional obligations. The government must act more actively to ensure the media can fulfill their democratic functions,\u201d Prins said. This does not mean, however, that government should direct media content. \u201cIt’s about creating the right context and preconditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendations from the WRR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prins concluded her lecture with four concrete recommendations from the WRR report. According to her, these recommendations are crucial to creating a secure and reliable information environment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Maximum utilization of European laws and regulations to create a reliable and secure information environment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Important information for democracy must be prominently visible and easy to find.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Strengthening local and regional journalism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Encouraging users to take responsibility for their role in the new media system.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The urgency of change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    According to Prins, it is imperative that the government no longer wait and see. \u201cJust turning a few knobs on the standing policy will not get us there. We need a new integrated policy that matches today’s media system,\u201d she stressed. Prins warned that if the government does not act quickly, the democratic functions of the media will be seriously compromised. \u201cThe media are an indispensable infrastructure in our society. Without an adequate media policy, we risk losing our grip on reliable information and vital democratic debate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    To address the overwhelming influence of tech companies like Meta and Google, new integrated policies that better reflect contemporary media use are needed. During a talk for\u00a0NDP Nieuwsmedia, Corien Prins, chair of the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), strongly pleaded for a review of the role of government in the media landscape. She said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1568,"featured_media":505573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[84026],"tags":[49044,35808,415,86370],"location":[6763],"article_type":[36684],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[82795],"class_list":["post-490643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data","tag-big-tech-en","tag-journalism","tag-media","tag-wrr","location-netherlands","article_type-news","reboot-archive-data"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Corien Prins (WRR) calls for a renewed media policy in the Netherlands to safeguard the democratic functions of the media.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Bart Brouwers","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/brewbart\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-19-at-16.13.09.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["DATA+<\/a>"],"unlinked":["DATA+<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["big tech<\/a>","Journalism<\/a>","media<\/a>","wrr<\/a>"],"unlinked":["big tech<\/span>","Journalism<\/span>","media<\/span>","wrr<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 19, 2024","modified":"Updated on October 19, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 19, 2024 5:00 pm","modified":"Updated on October 19, 2024 5:00 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=490643"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=490643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}