Platforms

Facebook says it’s helping millions of the world’s poorest people get online through apps and services that allow them to use the internet data-free. Internal company documents show that many of these people end up being charged in amounts that collectively add up to an estimated millions of dollars a month. To attract new users, Facebook made deals with cellular carriers in countries including Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines to let low-income people use a limited version of Facebook and browse some other websites without data charges.

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the central role of digital media in our everyday lives. We now are in a historic transition, from a nation organized for a pandemic response to a recovery that surely will create a “new normal.” So it’s timely and important to look back at how digital media has been shaped during this period, and more importantly, to assess what lies ahead, based on current data and trends. This post-pandemic new normal, however defined, will not be binary.

Faster internet access has significantly weakened civic participation in Britain, according to a study that found involvement in political parties, trade unions and volunteering fell as web speeds rose. Volunteering in social care fell by more than 10 percent when people lived closer to local telecom companies' exchange hubs and so enjoyed faster web access. Involvement in political parties fell by 19 percent with every 1.8 kilometer increase in proximity to a hub.

Facebook has two benefits for businesses – not only in Africa, but for all emerging markets. The first is ease of access. The second benefit is its analytics function. Businesses can see who shares their content and how it spreads. But, for many people, Facebook is not only indispensable but unavoidable. Across Africa, Facebook is the internet. Businesses and consumers depend heavily on it because access to the app and site are free on many African telecoms networks, meaning you don’t need any phone credit to use it.

A Senate panel approved antitrust legislation forbidding the largest tech platforms from favoring their own products and services over competitors’, scoring a win for backers of stricter Big Tech regulation against fierce industry opposition. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act moves next to the Senate floor, where several senators said they wanted to see additional changes before backing the measure. The January 20, 16-6 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee showed the bill had bipartisan support but also raised bipartisan concerns.

January marks the anniversary of a series of coordinated protests that led to the withdrawal of two proposed laws in the United States Congress: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA-PIPA showed the power of collective action, rooted in shared values, to shape the future of the internet. In the decade since the SOPA fight, new issues have risen based on the development of new innovations in technology and the challenges that they create.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai personally approved a secret deal that gave the social network a leg up in the search giant’s online advertising auctions, attorneys for Texas and other states alleged in newly unsealed court filings.

Twitter’s early shift to a “work from anywhere” model during the pandemic, as well as the implementation of a requirement to add more people of color to final job candidate slates, helped the social media company post significant gains in 2021 in hiring Black and Latinx employees.

Lawmakers and lobbyists anticipate a major fight over antitrust bills meant to tame Big Tech before the midterms put an unofficial end to the legislative effort. The bills could remake how Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google operate and treat competitors — if they make it over the finish line.