Harvard Law Professor Martha Minow on the Threat to Freedom of Speech and how to Protect It
Matty Kerr is co-creator with John Brancaccio of The Working Experience. He is also a filmmaker and published author. Listen to our podcast on iTunes and Spotify and visit our website: theworkingexperience.com for videos, merchandise and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Linked In, Instagram, and Twitter.
“There is a reason that the only private industry referenced in the Constitution is the press.”
Prof. Minow has taught Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School since 1981. Her latest book, Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve Freedom of Speech, addresses the decline of reliable news reporting in the Internet Age and how it is needed to preserve freedom of speech.
TWE, “What brought you to write this specific book at this specific time? Why is it so relevant right now?”
MM “The internet has opened up many possibilities, but it has also disrupted the business model of news. The problems are the rapid decline of the traditional news industry. Staff are, and have been for years, being laid off. This has only been accelerated by the pandemic. Internet companies are not subject to the same kinds of rules and liabilities that apply to conventional media. We face questions of about what is reliable, what is trustworthy. What is fake news? What is real? What is propaganda? What is a bot? This has all promoted a chaotic, downward spiral of an experience.”
The federal government had a hand in bringing this situation about.
MM, “It was actually an effort by Congress to promote new, fledgling industries and it has been wildly successful. Some of the most well-capitalized companies in the world are internet platform companies.”
In Prof. Minow’s analysis, the Founding Fathers believed that democracy can only work if the people are informed. In over 1,000 communities in the United States, there is no local news-no local newspaper, local cable station, or broadcast. Which that the people in these communities have a very difficult finding out about things that impact them directly. They will not know about surges in Covid cases, where to get vaccinated or if there is lead in the water.
MM, “People in power will abuse that power if there is no one to hold them accountable. That is what journalism is supposed to do. Right now, that is a dimming hope in America.”
We need journalists to hold those in power accountable. In theory, the internet does have a democratizing effect. Anyone can be a reporter and have direct access to an audience without being censored by an editor who decides on what gets published. However, that means that there is little accountability. Traditional news outlets had to check facts and verify sources. There had to be at least two credible sources for a story to be considered print worthy. There were libel laws to protect people against slander. Now anyone can say anything and not back it up.
Advertisers make this erosion of authentic journalism even more insidious with techniques such as “narrow casting”, which fills your newsfeed with videos and ads based on your search history. This limits our exposure to different points of view, which does little for becoming educated about issues.
MM, “The development of algorithmic data mining has really been the gold mine for internet marketing which is to find ever more narrow groups to target ads to and then use the algorithm to highlight for you something that is predicted to be what you’ll like which is not going to expose you to new ideas, points of view etc. The business model of the big platforms is predicated on engagement, and they basically give full employment to psychologists who know that the way to engage people is to outrage them.”
These platforms are literally employing psychologists to look at my search history understand better how to get me to buy things. They know that fear and outrage drive people much more than happiness and peace. For some reason, people buy more stuff when they are afraid and angry. Of course, we participate in this system. People love to be outraged, have their fears stoked and justified. It gives them identity and purpose, as well as an outlet to their frustrations. But it never addresses the real problems; it never solves anything.
And the actual truth doesn’t matter.
MM, “The disjunction between the real and the perceived is one of our biggest problems in American right now.”
In her analysis, the threat to free speech is really about the news industry. We need journalists exposing corruption, abuses of power, climate change, corporate malfeasance, fraud, etc. Journalism, authentic journalism, is about finding facts that lead to the truth. Journalism is supposed to help people who need help and make our society better. It is not fear mongering, lies and personal attacks.
MM, “There is a reason that the only private industry referenced in the Constitution is the press. We need to recognize the ongoing importance of news, meaning reporting events and tracking down what’s true with some kind of integrity.”
What can be done about this?
· Regulate the internet companies, such as Facebook, in the same way that radio, broadcast and cable TV are regulated to ensure fairness and that the public interest is being served.
· Make platforms like Facebook pay for news and be responsible for the content they present and guard against fraud.
· Build a public internet along the same lines as PBS. Support public broadcasting and non-profit news.
Even these large internet platform companies (who were initially subsidized by the U.S. government) are recognizing the need for regulation. Videos have appeared on platforms like Facebook that have led to genocidal violence in more than one country. Mark Zuckerberg has gone from saying to Congress that Facebook is not in the media business to asserting First Amendment rights to now saying that Facebook needs regulation. The power and accountability of social media can be left to regulation by the marketplace.
But the polarization will not be ended by government intervention. We, the consumer, need to take responsibility for how we get information and take the time to consider the source, listen to people with credentials, check facts and search for differing points of view and not listen to gossip, rants, and innuendo that merely feed our emotions.
