Professor Christian Fuchs, Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), wrote an article for The Conversation about public ownership in the internet infrastructure business.
In the article, Professor Fuchs says that he believes that the policy to provide superfast broadband free will improve Britain’s rate of full-fiber internet connection, but also that we must address the wider problems faced by users.
He said: “The consequences of the current model of digital capitalism have been surveillance, privacy violations, digital monopolies, fake news, filter bubbles, post-truth politics, digital authoritarianism, online nationalism, digital tabloids and high-speed flows of superficial content. To change this, we need a full public service internet.”
He added: “A public service internet could also democratise the ownership and use of entertainment content, so much of which is currently dominated by transnational multimedia corporations that effectively control popular culture.”
He also said that the policy allows us to open up debate about how alternatives to the corporate internet should look. He said: “A public service internet has the potential to reinvigorate both public service media and community media in the digital age.”
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