‘National governments are powerless to control the new media.’ Evaluate this view
CAMBRIDGE
A level and AS level
2021
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Introduction
Briefly define new media and contrast it with traditional media. Introduce the debate about national government control over the new media. Present your argument/stance - either agreeing or disagreeing with the statement that national governments are powerless.
Arguments Against Government Powerlessness
Discuss the methods used by authoritarian regimes to control new media access (e.g., censorship, surveillance). Provide specific examples like China's internet censorship or Russia's control over online dissent.
Analyze the tools available to democratic governments to influence new media, even within democratic frameworks. Discuss censorship, funding, regulations, and fines, providing relevant examples like hate speech laws or data protection regulations (GDPR).
Explain the concept of "soft power" and how governments exert influence through warnings, criticisms, and pressure on new media companies. Illustrate with examples like government inquiries into social media's role in elections or calls for greater regulation of online content.
Arguments Supporting Government Powerlessness
Highlight the global and decentralized nature of the internet and new media, making it difficult for any single government to exert complete control. Mention the challenges of regulating content that constantly crosses borders.
Discuss the role of citizen journalism and user-generated content in shaping new media narratives, making it difficult for governments to control the flow of information. Use examples like the Arab Spring uprisings or the #MeToo movement to illustrate the power of citizen-driven online movements.
Analyze the economic power and influence of multinational media conglomerates, arguing that their interests may supersede national regulations. Provide examples of companies like Facebook or Google pushing back against government regulations.
Conclusion
Summarize the key arguments presented on both sides of the debate. Reiterate your stance, acknowledging the complexity of the issue and the ongoing struggle between governments and new media. Offer a nuanced perspective recognizing that government influence is not absolute, but neither are they entirely powerless in the face of the evolving new media landscape.
Is Government Control Over New Media an Illusion?
The rise of the new media, characterized by its decentralized, global, and participatory nature, has sparked debate about the ability of national governments to exert control over this powerful force. While the assertion that national governments are utterly powerless against the new media might seem appealing at first glance, a closer examination reveals a more nuanced reality. This essay argues that while the new media presents unprecedented challenges, national governments retain significant, albeit evolving, means of influence.
The Shifting Sands of Control: New Media's Challenges
Proponents of the view that national governments are powerless point to several compelling arguments. Firstly, the global reach and interconnectedness of new media platforms, often owned by multinational corporations, make it difficult for any single government to impose its will. For instance, attempts by China to censor Google's search results ultimately led the company to withdraw its search engine from mainland China in 2010, highlighting the limitations of national borders in the digital age.
Secondly, the participatory nature of the new media, enabling individual users to create and disseminate content, makes it practically impossible for governments to monitor and regulate the sheer volume of information being shared. This stands in stark contrast to traditional media, where a limited number of publishers and broadcasters simplified control mechanisms.
Finally, in democratic societies, attempts to censor or control the new media can face significant backlash from citizens who value freedom of expression and access to information. The Arab Spring uprisings, where social media played a pivotal role in mobilizing protests against authoritarian regimes, illustrate the potential consequences of heavy-handed government control.
The Enduring Power of the State: Tools of Influence
However, dismissing the influence of national governments entirely would be premature. Governments still possess a range of tools to exert control, albeit often indirectly and with varying degrees of success.
Firstly, authoritarian regimes, like China and Iran, demonstrate that extensive censorship and surveillance infrastructure can effectively restrict access to and dissemination of information online. By employing sophisticated firewalls, blocking websites, and monitoring online activity, these governments demonstrate that technological barriers can be erected to limit the free flow of information.
Even in more democratic societies, governments utilize a combination of legislation, regulation, and economic pressure to influence the new media landscape. Laws criminalizing hate speech and online harassment, for example, force social media companies to grapple with the challenging task of content moderation. Data protection regulations, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), impose significant obligations on tech companies regarding the collection and use of personal data.
Furthermore, governments can leverage their economic power to influence the behavior of new media companies. This can range from offering tax breaks to companies that comply with government regulations to imposing hefty fines for violations. The threat of antitrust lawsuits or investigations, as seen in ongoing scrutiny of companies like Facebook and Google, serves as a powerful incentive for cooperation.
A Work in Progress: The Evolving Relationship
Ultimately, the relationship between national governments and the new media is a dynamic and evolving one. Governments are constantly adapting their strategies to keep pace with technological advancements and the changing nature of online platforms. The increasing use of artificial intelligence for surveillance and censorship, for instance, raises concerns about the future of online freedom.
While it is tempting to declare national governments either powerless or all-powerful, the reality is far more nuanced. The new media has undoubtedly shifted the balance of power, making it more difficult for governments to exert complete control. However, by employing a combination of technological, legal, economic, and even social pressure, national governments continue to wield significant influence over the online world.
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National governments are powerless to control the new media.
Evaluate this view.
Key focus of the question
The focus of the question is who controls the new media and, specifically, whether national governments are able to exercise any influence over the new media. Candidates may distinguish between different types of political regime: authoritarian versus democratic, for example. Authoritarian regimes usually exercise greater direct control over the media than is the case in democratic countries. Different means through which governments can seek to control the new media may be discussed (censorship, funding, publishing and broadcasting laws, regulation, parliamentary scrutiny of media activities). Evaluating how effective these means are in helping governments control the new media could form part of a good analytical response to the question. Evaluation might be supported by considering cases of where national governments have attempted to control the new media, such as examples of countries seeking to restrict internet access or the attempts by various Western governments to limit the powers of new media operators such as Facebook and Google. Attempts by national governments to work together (through supra-national organisations, for example) in regulating the new media might also be discussed. Good answers will draw conclusions about whether national governments are powerless to control the new media, perhaps noting that the situation is still unfolding and it may be too early to draw definitive conclusions on this subject.
Indicative content
For:
- Media conglomerates tend to operate on a global scale today and that makes it easier for them to avoid detailed control by particular nation-states if they so wish. This is particularly the case with the new media, which is based on open-access systems and technology that operates across national borders quite readily.
- Control over media content is highly fragmented in the case of the new media, with individual citizens being able to influence that content in myriad ways. This makes it harder for national governments to police and restrict content than is the case with the traditional media.
- Democratic governments are accountable to the electorate, and measures such as censorship have not always proven popular with the wider population in countries where there is a high degree of support for media freedom. Opposition to censorship in some respects has become stronger with the emergence of the new media, as many people see the open access afforded by the new media as highly democratic and they would resent government attempts to control or restrict that freedom.
Against:
- Examples suggest that authoritarian regimes have often been successful in controlling access to the new media.
- Democratic regimes usually show greater respect for media rights and freedoms and, up to a point, are happy to accept a free market in media content. Nevertheless, many direct and indirect means are available to democratic governments to control the media, including censorship, allocation of state funding, regulatory supervision, and fines for media organizations that fail to conform to government regulations. Many of these means have been applied successfully to the new media.
- The threat of government censure or attempts at punitive action may be sufficient to ensure that new media organizations take care to avoid displeasing the authorities. For example, government criticism of various aspects of social media has resulted in increased efforts at self-regulation by owners of social media platforms.
- Governments are an important source of information for the media generally, and that is another consideration encouraging media organizations (including the new media) to align themselves with government ideas about how the media should operate.
- Organizations that own the traditional media also control large parts of the new media. National governments may be able to use their powers over the traditional media where they want to restrict or limit the powers of the new media.