9-MST 310-SLIDES

MST 310: Political Economy of Media

Module 8 & 9 Review

Hands-on Activity: "Make the Net-Work"
- Focus on co-designing community networking literacies with Northern Indigenous communities in Northwest Territories, Canada.
Small-Group Discussions: Discussion Post #4

Course Outline

Introduction to Political Economy of Media
Intersectional Political Economy of Media Theory
Pathways to Media Democracy
Legal, Policy, Regulation, and Ownership Struggles
Labor and Technology in Legacy Media Industries
Labor and Technology in New Media Industries
Indigenous Interventions in Media Structures
Revisiting Media Democracy for Design Justice
Community & Shared Networks: Resistance & Alternatives
Data Sovereignty & Justice: Resistance & Alternatives
Citizen Social Media: Resistance & Alternatives
Platform Cooperatives & Beyond: Resistance & Alternatives
Environmental Stewardship & Repair: Resistance & Alternatives

Revisiting Media Democracy

Enhance Equity: Address systemic inequalities in access, ownership, and representation.
Promote Media Democracy: Cultivate inclusive, participatory, accountable media systems.
Challenge Power Concentrations: Decentralization of media ownership enables diverse voices.
Support Alternative Media: Empower community-based, independent media platforms.
Improve Employment: Reform hiring practices to increase diversity.
Advocate for Fair Compensation: Ensure equitable pay and treatment of media workers.
Intersectional Approach: Prioritize the needs of marginalized groups in reform initiatives.

Media Democracy Strategies (Freedman & Obar, 2016)

Know the Media: Critique existing media structures and ideologies.
Be the Media: Foster alternative media that reflect accountability and diversity.
Change the Media: Pursue democratization through diverse ownership and legislative reforms.

Contemporary Challenges to Media Democracy

Surveillance Capitalism: Corporations profit from personal data collection.
- Gig economy workers face low wages and poor conditions.
- AI amplifies inequalities by favoring dominant voices.
Lack of Transparency: Opaque algorithms hinder accountability.
- Black-box algorithms obscure how content is ranked.
- Corporate monopolies prioritize profit over ethics.

Difficulties in Reforming Existing Systems

Resistance from corporations benefiting from the status quo.
Corporate lobbying shapes legislation to avoid stringent regulations.
National governments struggle to regulate global tech giants.
- specially trans-national corporation
User dependency on these platforms complicates systemic change.

Strategies for Change (Deibert, 2020)

Retreat: Withdrawing from harmful digital spaces.
Reform: Advocating for ethical design, corporate responsibility, media literacy.
Restraint: Legal and social checks on corporate power.
- freedom of speech might be impacted
- how would you enforce restraint without infringing people’s ability to practice their free will

Retreat

Actions: Delete accounts, use offline alternatives, minimize data exposure.
Limitations:
- Not scalable; society's dependence on digital infrastructure.
  - everything and everyone is so interconnected, leaving it would leave people losing out on opportunities and resources that are typically accessed through these digital channels.
- Loss of influence over shaping digital platforms.
- Avoiding platforms does not address systemic issues.

Example: Digital Detox & Minimalist Tech Use

Jaron Lanier's "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts" advocates for social media withdrawal.
Limitations: Privileged option; does not tackle structural issues.

Example: Unmaking & Digital Resistance

Inspired by historical resistance (e.g., Luddites—skilled workers who were threatened by the introduction of tech that did their jobs faster and for cheaper, initially tried to appeal to the government but it didn’t work thus they resorted to disabling machines) to dismantle harmful tech.
Challenges with lack of clear alternatives and potential power vacuums.

this is an extreme way of retreating

a modern example: when hackers (skilled individuals) took down X to undermine them

Example: Alternative Technologies & Decentralized Platforms

Proposals for community-controlled technologies (e.g., Mastodon, Signal).
Limitations: Lack of mainstream adoption and funding issues.

Reform

Focus on modifying existing systems for accountability and fairness.
Corporate Reform & Ethical Design: Encourage self-regulation by adopting ethical practices.
Government Regulation & Public Policy: Enforce protections for public interest.

Example: Corporate Reform & Ethical Design

Encourage ethical business practices; ie: privacy first model being built into interfaces (e.g., Apple’s App Tracking Transparency).
- cookies when on websites is another example
User control over data collection and advertising preferences.
- they kinda put it on the user to go and change the settings, but at least theres an option
Challenges: Self-regulation can be performative, conflicts with profit motives.

Example: Government Regulation & Public Policy

Laws to enforce user control over data and prevent monopolies.
- making internet access more like a utility as it has changed from want to basically a need
Challenges: Corporate lobbying and enforcement difficulties due to global operations.

Example: Public & Community-Owned Platforms

Publicly funded digital media alternatives (e.g., BBC Digital Services).
- O-NET in Olds AB; A community-driven initiative providing high-speed internet access to residents, promoting digital inclusion and local economic development.
- having people pay a fee that goes into a service—but its hard coz of the high cost of living
Challenges: Require sustainable funding models for operations.

Restraint

Limiting the power of corporations and governments to prevent abuses online.
- Restricting corporate and govt power
- mutual restraint
- civil engagements—but do people have time and will they want to put in effort
Challenges with balancing freedoms & requires public engagement

(look on the slides for more in depth notes

Civic Engagement

Promote civic responsibility and awareness of digital systems.
Teach critical media literacy and raise awareness of surveillance capitalism.

Multi-Strategy Approach

Retreat: Opting out of harmful digital spaces.
Reform: Enhance existing systems with policies like GDPR.
Restraint: Place limits on corporate digital power.

Resetting the Internet

Fundamental reshaping of digital platforms with democratic principles.
"Unmaking as Emancipation" emphasizes clear guiding principles in digital futures.

essentially thinking about if we can stop the internet now and go back and bring back some of the old policies that put the public interest first

Problems with Traditional Tech Design Models

Top-down approaches exclude community input, leading to biases in technology.

Proposed Solution: Design Justice

Ensure community control over design processes; challenge systemic inequalities.
Emphasizes participatory technology development with affected communities.

Design Justice Approach

• Challenges traditional top-down, profit-driven models

• How technology design processes reinforce or challenge systemic

inequalities

• Accountability ands control by marginalized communities

• Encourages inclusivity in design to reflect diverse lived experiences

• Core principle: “Nothing about us without us”

• Emphasizes participatory technology development, where affected

communities lead the design process rather than being passive users

Moving from Equity to Accountability

Calls for community ownership of technology beyond just diversity in hiring.

Who Designs?

Lack of diversity in the tech industry leads to exclusion and harmful outcomes (e.g., bias in AI).

Who Benefits & Who is Harmed?

• Certain groups reap the benefits of digital innovations (tech

companies, advertisers).

• Marginalized communities bear the risks (surveillance, job

automation, misinformation).

Example: Gig economy platforms (Uber, DoorDash)

• Tech firms profit while gig workers face low wages, job insecurity,

and algorithmic exploitation.

Why Design Justice Matters

Challenges corporate power; recognizes technology is not neutral but reflects creator values.
Questions on how to apply design justice principles in media and technology for public benefit.

Imagining Alternative Digital Futures

Vision for community-controlled, decentralized digital platforms.
Involvement of various stakeholders in shaping equitable digital futures.

Principles for a Just Digital Future

Community ownership, data justice, and algorithmic transparency prioritized.

Community Ownership – Digital spaces should be co-owned and

co-governed by users.

• Data Justice – People should control their own data, with clear

privacy protections.

• Inclusion & Accessibility – Platforms must reflect diverse needs

and perspectives.

• Algorithmic Transparency – AI systems should be open and

accountable.

• Sustainability – Digital infrastructure should be environmentally

responsible.

Role of Activists, Policymakers, and Researchers

• Activists push for policy changes and ethical technology.

• Policymakers create regulations to curb monopolies, improve labour conditions, protect privacy, and support public interest goals.

• Researchers and developers help design and evaluate new technologies based on justice and equity.

How to Take Action:

• Advocate for stronger digital rights and privacy laws.

• Support open-source and community-driven platforms.

• Push for more funding for public-interest media.

• Educate communities about design justice and data sovereignty.

Module on Indigenous and Community-Owned Internet Networks

Addressing digital divide in Indigenous communities.
Case study: First Nations Broadband Networks.

Module on Data Sovereignty & Justice

Ethical guidelines for AI governance and community oversight.

Platform Cooperatives & Alternatives to the Gig Economy

Strategies to enable worker ownership of platforms.

The Role of Activists, Policymakers, & Researchers

Importance of advocacy for digital rights, privacy laws, and community-driven technology.

The Future is Not Inevitable

The challenge lies in scaling grassroots efforts to resist corporate and state control.