Private profits in the public space of the Internet
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
This paper explores public service obligations of private companies operating on a publicly-funded Internet. It analyzes the use of this public infrastructure for commerce and subsequent user agreements created by key web consumer data merchants Facebook, Alphabet, Twitter and Snapchat that seek to supersede constitutional rights such as the First Amendment.
Abstract of Proposal
The underlying infrastructure of the World Wide Web has always depended on public funding. Public investments are substantial, and companies profiting from these investments must be charged with public service obligations consistent with precedence that governs mass information disseminators in the broadcast, cable and telecommunications industries. This paper explores public service obligations of private companies operating on a publicly-funded Internet. It begins with an overview of the significant investment the public has made in the infrastructure, beginning with the national phone and cable wiring grids as well as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research and development projects at XeroxPARC, the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) and the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. It then analyzes the use of this public infrastructure for commerce and subsequent user agreements created by key web consumer data merchants Facebook, Alphabet, Twitter and Snapchat that seek to supersede constitutional rights such as the First Amendment. The paper concludes that private companies operating in publicly-funded spaces operate outside federal law when user agreements violate the U.S. Constitution and the civil rights of end users.
Location
Session 5D (Habersham, Hilton Garden Inn)
Start Date
2-23-2019 10:15 AM
End Date
2-23-2019 11:45 AM
Recommended Citation
Dean, Adam, "Private profits in the public space of the Internet" (2019). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 43.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2019/2019/43
Private profits in the public space of the Internet
Session 5D (Habersham, Hilton Garden Inn)
The underlying infrastructure of the World Wide Web has always depended on public funding. Public investments are substantial, and companies profiting from these investments must be charged with public service obligations consistent with precedence that governs mass information disseminators in the broadcast, cable and telecommunications industries. This paper explores public service obligations of private companies operating on a publicly-funded Internet. It begins with an overview of the significant investment the public has made in the infrastructure, beginning with the national phone and cable wiring grids as well as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research and development projects at XeroxPARC, the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) and the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. It then analyzes the use of this public infrastructure for commerce and subsequent user agreements created by key web consumer data merchants Facebook, Alphabet, Twitter and Snapchat that seek to supersede constitutional rights such as the First Amendment. The paper concludes that private companies operating in publicly-funded spaces operate outside federal law when user agreements violate the U.S. Constitution and the civil rights of end users.
