A ‘Public Service Internet’—Reclaiming the Public Service Mission

14 December, 2023

| 1 min read

This article looks forward, locating debates on public service broadcasting firmly within contemporary and future debates about technology regulation. Public service broadcasting has been a dominant theme in UK media policy since the creation of the BBC in 1922, aimed at delivering positive democratic and cultural outcomes. However, despite this rich heritage, and amidst widespread concerns about the social and democratic implications of ‘digital dominance’, the public service mission has failed fully to transcend its broadcasting origins and provide a model for a ‘public service internet’. The article reviews the relationship between the for-profit business models of the dominant technology platforms and potential civic and individual harms, past and failed attempts to reimagine ‘public service’ institutions in a digital age and identifies opportunities for scholars, activists and policy makers to reimagine public service alternatives for a platform society.

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Helen Jay

Helen Jay is an AHRC-funded doctoral candidate in the Media and Communications Department at the University of Westminster. Alongside her PhD, she acts as an external expert, lecturer and adviser on media and communications policy.
Articles by Helen Jay

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