7. Political Freedom Part 2: Emergence of the Networked Public Sphere

Future research considerations

Substantive effects on legislation

Professor Benkler’s analysis focuses on how the Internet will change the “procedures” of politics – the mechanisms by which politicians and citizens will exchange and debate ideas. One interesting area for future study will be how the Internet will change the “substance” of politics – the policies enacted by government. Will the Internet shift politics to the left or to the right? What types of laws will be enacted as a result of the “new media” that would not have been enacted under the “old media”? Since the “new media” is, well, new, it is hard to empirically assess the answers to these questions, but one can speculate about the possibilities. Here are five such speculations (please contribute more!)

1. Greater emphasis on legislative protection of free speech

The Communications Decency Act passed in an era when there were far more Internet content consumers than content contributors. As more people contribute content to the Internet (consistent with Benkler’s vision), they will be more inclined against Internet censorship. More generally, as more people acquire the self-affirming ability to propagate their views, they may respect free speech to a greater extent and be less willing to deny it from others.

2. Better technology policy, such as copyright and patent law

In the mainstream media, those who create content (writers) tend to be different from those who are technologically adept (technicians). On the Internet, the content providers are the same as those with the underlying technological skills to put it online, and thus are perhaps more interested in technological issues. As a result, there may be more dialogue online than in the mainstream press on issues such as patents, telecommunications, and copyright. Anecdotally, the Grokster Supreme Court decision last year got as much blogosphere treatment as the Ten Commandments decisions – even though the Ten Commandments commanded (so to speak) much more mainstream media attention. Given that small interest groups currently drive copyright and patent policy because of the lack of broader public attention, increasing public discourse of these issues might have a salutary effect on technology policy.

3. Less pork

One of the reasons there is so much “pork” in congressional bills is that the “old media” does not have the expertise or interest to carefully evaluate these bills. As a result, the bills do not get any scrutiny, and Congressmen can feel free to insert these provisions without political recourse. The Diebold incident noted by Benkler demonstrates how the radically decentralized Internet can analyze complex issues in a way the old media cannot. Increased scrutiny on pork – leading to less pork – might be the result.

4. Decreased incumbency advantage leading to more populism.

Currently, 95+% of incumbents get reelected to the House of Representatives, in part because of the inherent cost of running political campaigns. The Internet undoubtedly makes it easier to advertise and run a political campaign. This might reduce the incumbency advantage, and might even lead to greater political populism as entrenched incumbents must directly appeal to voters.

5. Less prejudice against stigmatized groups

In the old media, people acquired information from two sources: first, from people they knew, and second, from TV or radio news anchors, whose physical appearances (in the case of TV), voices, and personal characteristics were calculated to appeal to as many people as possible. In contrast, when people read blogs, they do not see the faces, or hear the voices, of the bloggers. Frequently, the blogger is completely anonymous.

This might reduce prejudice against minority groups, both in politics and in daily life, in two ways. First, people uncomfortable around members of a minority group might be more willing to read a blog written by one, than watch one on TV or interact with one in real life. If they then find that the blog is appealing, it may implicitly reduce their prejudice toward people in those groups. Second, if they read a blog anonymously and then discover it is written by someone from a group which they stereotyped, their views toward that group might shift.

For instance, Andrew Sullivan is a gay conservative who wrote an influential blog in support of the Iraq war. Many people, especially in conservative states, might not know any gay people, and no gay person is likely to become a network TV news anchor anytime soon. Sullivan’s blog might thus have been their only opportunity to read and comment on the views of a gay intellectual. It’s possible that these interactions unconsciously reduced people’s hostility toward gay people.