20 Jan 2017 7:25 pm
The truth is that the days of being able to demand that "the media" communicates information based on verifiable (and verified) facts is past - and it's an issue.
As technologies converge, start-ups are cheap and easy to initiate and massive audiences are only a click (or a viral post) away, who should be regulated, and by who?
At what point does an organisation become "mass media"? Is it a certain number of employees? A certain "readership"/audience? A newspaper or a cable company is easily identifiable, but what about a group of 6 people working in someone's basement? One person? Where does the line get drawn?
What about media created by the public? Facebook? Twitter?
Do we look at the channels and regulate those to the point that we place impossible demands on new companies? Could Facebook verify every post or share? Not realistically.
So we are left with us, the recipients. We could make it easier to sue, I guess - at least make the publication of lies about us constitute libel/slander (without having to show malicious intent as well - which may encourage at least a modicum of verification).
It isn't enough. We're ****. Unless someone has a plan that doesn't gut free speech.
As technologies converge, start-ups are cheap and easy to initiate and massive audiences are only a click (or a viral post) away, who should be regulated, and by who?
At what point does an organisation become "mass media"? Is it a certain number of employees? A certain "readership"/audience? A newspaper or a cable company is easily identifiable, but what about a group of 6 people working in someone's basement? One person? Where does the line get drawn?
What about media created by the public? Facebook? Twitter?
Do we look at the channels and regulate those to the point that we place impossible demands on new companies? Could Facebook verify every post or share? Not realistically.
So we are left with us, the recipients. We could make it easier to sue, I guess - at least make the publication of lies about us constitute libel/slander (without having to show malicious intent as well - which may encourage at least a modicum of verification).
It isn't enough. We're ****. Unless someone has a plan that doesn't gut free speech.