Conclusion: A New Social Contract for Digital Rights

The problem of disinformation that plagues modern democracy is rooted in the broader political economy of digital media markets that interact with structural changes in our societies. Network communications technologies have triggered a paradigm shift in how citizens access and process news and information. In the resulting creative disruption, we have gained enormous public benefits, not least of which is instant access for anyone with a smartphone to the vast store of human knowledge available over the internet.

But we have also undermined the traditional market for public service journalism and weakened the strength of democratic institutions that require the integrity of robust public debate. We have permitted technologies that deliver information based on relevance and the desire to maximize attention capture to replace the normative function of editors and newsrooms. Further, we have overlooked for too long the ways in which these technologies—and the tracking and targeting data economy they power—have contributed to the gradual fragmentation and radicalization of political communications.

For two decades, public policy has taken a hands-off approach to these new markets, believing that regulation might blunt innovation before these technologies reached maturity. Now, we have dominant market players that have built the most valuable companies in the world, and yet they still operate largely without the oversight of public government. The steady increase in negative externalities these new tech monopolies generate for democracy has been building for years. In recent months, these developments have suddenly hit the vertical section of an S-curve of socio-political change, and we are feeling the consequences.

We have permitted technologies that deliver information based on relevance and the desire to maximize attention capture to replace the normative function of editors and newsrooms.

For these reasons, it is time to design a public policy response to rebalance the scales between technological development and public welfare through a digital social contract. This report provides a textured analysis of what this agenda should look like. It is extremely challenging because there are no single-solution tools that are likely to meaningfully change outcomes. Only a combination of policies—all of which are necessary and none of which are sufficient by themselves—will begin to show results over time. We believe that building this package of policies around core principles of transparency, privacy and competition is the right approach. And we look forward to others producing parallel analyses, challenging our conclusions, or building on our work.

Despite the scope of the problem we face, there is reason for optimism. Silicon Valley giants have begun to come to the table with policymakers and civil society leaders in an earnest attempt to take some responsibility. Gone are the flippant dismissals that technology markets have nothing to do with the outcomes of democratic processes or the integrity of public institutions. And governments are motivated to take action. Europeans have led on data privacy and competition policy. Meanwhile, a variety of countries are focused on transparency and election security. The research community is getting organized and producing promising new studies. And the public service news industry is highly attuned to the problem, dedicating resources to fact-checking and showing signs of a resurgent commitment to the public service ethos that has long animated its role in democracy (if not always in functional practice).

Most importantly, the sleeping dragon of the general public is finally waking up. For the first time, people are asking questions about whether constant engagement with digital media is healthy for democracy. They are developing more critical instincts about false information online and demanding accountability from companies that play fast and loose with personal data and stand aside as organized disinformation operators seek to disrupt democracy. It is impossible to predict how the path of reform will lead us to restoring the strength of democratic institutions and public confidence in them. But we can at least see the starting point.