Reframing Web 2.0as a public service for the right to communicate

Sebastian DeterdingHans Bredow Institute for Media Research /Graduate School Media and Communication, Hamburg UniversityInternet Research 11.0, Gothenborg, 15.10.2010

cbn

A part of fundamental human rights?

http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2009/06/10/hadopi-le-conseil-constitutionnel-censure-la-riposte-graduee_1205290_651865.html

A new public service?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/micro-markets/is-google-a-public-service-is-a-google-serp-rank-a-right/857

A new public sphere?

http://opennet.net/policing-content-quasi-public-sphere

BBC News

»73% (of UK consumers) described broadband as essential

a utility as water or electricity.«

free broadband won‘t entice all (2009)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8091398.stm

• Increasing convergence of content, communication, computers*

• Internet as the central infrastructural backbone: All-IP Networks/NGNs§

• Private and public actors increasingly rely on online services for communicative functions†

• Increasing centralisation of Internet services: SaaS/Cloud Computing‡

* Henten & Tadayoni 2008 § Dowden, Gitlin & Martin 1998, ITU 2001, Trick & Weber 2007 † Brown et al 2009, 2009a ‡ Carr 2008, ITU 2009

IP as the central communication service

How might we

think about the Internet as a public service in a more systematic, technology-neutral manner?

1

Introduction

3

Critique &Conceptual Model

2

Public Services& the Internet Today

4

Civil Society& Web 2.0

5

Outlook

1

Introduction

3

Critique &Conceptual Model

4

5

Outlook

2

Public Services& the Internet Today

Civil Society& Web 2.0

European Commission

»The term ‚services of general interest‘ … covers market and non-market services which the public authorities class as being of general interest and subject to specific public service obligations.«

services of general interest (2003)

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0022:EN:HTML

European Commission

»The market usually ensures optimum allocation of resources for the benefit of society at large. However, some services of general interest are not fully satisfied by markets alone ... Therefore, it has always been the core responsibility of public authorities to ensure that such basic collective and qualitative needs are satisfied.«

services of general interest (2003)

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0022:EN:HTML

public services

Media

Telecom.

Health

Security

Education

TransportEnergy

Water

Fire

Waste management

Social services

Scope of public services

Today‘s FocusAdministration

Legitimations of public services

Nationalconstitutions

Universal/transnational

Today‘s Focus

• Natural law: UDHR, Art. 19*

• State theory: Provision of existence§

• Democracy theory: Public sphere/media crucial for deliberative democracy†

• Economics: Public/common goods (tragedies, externalities, monopolies)‡

* Kuhlen 2004 § Forsthoff 1938, Meinel 2007 † Gimmler 2001, Trappel 2010, Gripsrud & Moe 2010 ‡ Hardin 1968, Rose 1986, Heller 1998

Legitimations of public services

• (Ultra-)Broadband connectivity*

• Public Service Broadcasting online§

• Freedom of Information, Open Data†

The current discourse

* OECD 2007, 2008 § Lowe & Hujanen 2003, Lowe & Bardoel 2008, Lowe 2010 † Hunt & Chapman 2006, O‘Reilly & Battelle 2009

1

Introduction

2

Public ServiceInternet Today

4

5

Outlook

Civil Society& Web 2.0

3

Critique &Conceptual Model

2 Layers of Public Service Internet?

Public Service MediaFreedom of Information, Open Data

Broadband Connectivity

phys

ical

con

ten

t

Yochai Benkler

»(The) freedom to create and communicate requires use of diverse things and relationships... These are the physical, logical, and content layers. ... The logical layer represents the algorithms, standards, ways of translating human meaning into something that machines can transmit, store, or compute, and something that machines process into communications meaningful to human beings.«

the wealth of networks (2006: 391-2)

3 Layers of Public Service Internet?

Public Service MediaFreedom of Information, Open Data

Protocols, Software, Platforms

Broadband Connectivity

phys

ical

con

ten

tlo

gic

al

Lawrence Lessig

R/O culture -> R/W culture

remix (2008)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

»Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.«

article 19

Rainer Kuhlen

»r2r + r2w = r2c«

informationsethik (2004: 231)

6 Modules of Public Service Internet?

Public Service MediaFreedom of Information, Open Data Remixable public content

Protocols, Software, Platformsfor Reception

Protocols, Software, Platformsfor Production

Broadband Connectivity Production Devices

phys

ical

con

ten

tlo

gic

al

right to read right to write

WSIS Geneva Plan of Action

»Everyone should have the necessary skills to benefit fully from the Information Society. Therefore, capacity building and ICT literacy are essential.«

c4. capacity building, para 11

8 Modules of Public Service Internet

Receptive New Media Literacies Productive New Media Literacies

Public Service MediaFreedom of Information, Open Data Remixable public content

Protocols, Software, Platformsfor Reception

Protocols, Software, Platformsfor Production

Broadband Connectivity Production Devices

phys

ical

con

ten

t

right to read right to write

log

ical

capa

city

1

Introduction

3

Critique &Conceptual Model

2

Public ServiceInternet Today

5

Outlook

4

Civil Society& Web 2.0

Civil Society fills relevant gaps

Public Service MediaFreedom of Information, Open Data

Broadband Connectivity

phys

ical

con

ten

t

right to read right to write

log

ical

capa

city

Clay Shirky

»It is curiously the moment when technology becomes boring that the social effects become interesting.«

here comes everybody (2008)

Web 2.0 closes the capacity gap

Ease of use Ease of use

Consumable ContentUser Data

Shareable ContentUser Data

APIs, Protocols, Widgets, Editors, Cloud Hosting

Broadband Connectivity Production Devices

phys

ical

con

ten

t

right to read right to write

log

ical

capa

city

Web 2.0 covers the whole stack

Receptive New Media LIteracies Productive New Media Literacies

Public Service MediaFreedom of Information, Open Data Remixable public content

Protocols, Software, Platformsfor Reception

Protocols, Software, Platformsfor Production

Broadband Connectivity Production Devices

phys

ical

con

ten

t

right to read right to write

log

ical

capa

city

web 2.0/SaaS

1

Introduction

3

Critique &Conceptual Model

2

Public ServiceInternet Today

4

Civil Society& Web 2.0

5Outlook

• Natural law: Safeguarding freedom of speech

• State theory: Critical infrastructure security, safeguarding affordable universal access

• Democracy theory: Safeguarding independent, unbiased deliberation

• Economics: Natural monopolies to the detriment of innovation, competitors and citizens

Potential problems

• Extend beyond media & communication

• Systemize potential problems and regulatory approaches

• Model too abstract to be useful?

• Where to place privacy/informational self-determination?

Next steps and open questions

Thanks.

sebastian@codingconduct.cc

@dingstweets

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