The USA and Supranational Information Policies

Joseph Straubhaar

University of Texas at Austin

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Structural change in global policy setting

• New international organizations focused on global commercial interests dominant in setting policy agenda– WTO, WIPO

• New selective, dominant nation organizations, like Group of 8, increasingly important as policy fora

• Tendency toward direct representation of non-governmental actors in international organizations– Major firms now direct participants– NGOs also increasingly involved

• Either in main meetings or parallel critical meetings

Epochal policy forums: NWICO vs. WSIS

• NWICO (1976-78)

• News flow

• TV flow

• National communication policies

• Access to media

• Representation of developing countries

• Free press role

• WSIS (2003-2005)• Internet/info flow• Internet regulation• Access to info tech• Financing improved

access• Free press role

Access to information and information technology

• Original goal of WSIS, ITU, UNESCO• Promoted by

– Some donor countries, like Canada, Italy

– Some donor organizations, like FAO, BID

• Return by Bush administration to market-based, diffusionist policies (Rogers, Compaign)– Departure from access oriented Clinton policies

• Cut both domestic and foreign access subsidies

Developmentalist info flow

• Concessionary access to development info– AID, other national development agencies

– UN agencies

• Conflicts with market commercialization– Conflict within US and other national policies

– Conflict between UN agencies• WTO vs. UNDP, UNESCO

– Conflicts within UN agencies• ITU, World Bank

Information society versus knowledge society?

• Information society framework reflects commercial vision of information as trade good– Seen in USA, East Asia and Europe as coming dominant form of

economic production, sale– Reflected in conflicts over interests at WSIS

• Knowledge society framework (UNESCO) more focused on production and use of information– Potentially more bottom-up, diverse– Enabling more societies, communities to be producers of

information and knowledge

• Both visions require shift in education policy to facilitate production and use of knowledge

Commercialization of information

• Commodification of information as economic trade good (Mosco)– Privatization of public information

– Private creation of information

• Global economic strategy by USA, other national information economies (Bell, Reich)

• Global city strategy by some informational cities, apart from national policy (Castells, Sassen)

Intellectual property

• Rising emphasis of information policy– Supports commercialization

• National supporters increasing– Increasing diversity of countries with

significant intellectual property interests• Indian films, music, software• Brazilian music and film industries• Degree of piracy problem in Russia, China hurts

national artists

Intellectual property, continued

• Emphasis on info commercialization shifts emphasis to different organizations

• WTO

• WIPO

• Strong national differences on anti-piracy policy– many countries do not wish to enforce what are seen as

foreign intellectual property interests• Huge piracy issue, complaints between USA and China

Privacy

• Public opinion in USA and elsewhere wants stronger privacy protection– Texans refuse to let state government finance e-

government by letting contractor sell data

• USA moving toward stronger privacy protection before 11/9, BUT after 11/9– USA Patriot Act allowed much greater domestic

surveillance of electronic communications– U.S. NSA interception of international electronic

communications stepped up

Privacy, continued

• Public opinion and government in European Union moving to stronger privacy protection– Stronger protections over employee data– Stronger restrictions on personal info in transborder

data flow– Stronger restrictions on gathering and use of consumer

data– Setting standards that U.S. multinationals have to

follow to operate in Europe, thereby setting de fact global rules?

Anti-monopoly rules

• U.S. tendencies under Bush – Michael Powell (FCC) wants to allow greater

conglomeration of media, but challenged– Proposed Federal Trade Commission director

intends lower enforcement of anti-competitive behavior rules, appointment under challenge

– Conflict between civil society movement, Bush directions, courts, Congress

Anti-monopoly rules, continued

• European Union tendencies opposite – challenged greater conglomeration of media

• Example, proposed union of Sony and Bertelsman music firms scrutinized after US approval

– stricter enforcement of anti-competitive behavior rules

• Example, proposed tighter restrictions (than US) on Microsoft anti-competitive behavior in music players

Global, Regional, National, Local Media

•Global information systems and media•Glocalization

–Local productions with global forms or ideas

•Regionalization–Trade blocs–Targeting transborder cultural-linguistic markets–targeted at language and cultural communities

•Cultural proximity drives both national and regional cultural linguistic markets•Globalization of elites and middle classes drives global informational and cultural markets