Fixing the Information Crisis Before It's Too Late (For Democracy)
The Open Markets and The Guardian US on hosted an event on June 27 at the National Press Club in Washington with an urgent discussion to identify solutions to America’s information crisis. The event looked at ways to bolster the supply of trustworthy journalism, addressed the problem of tech platforms manipulating and censoring what individuals read, and corporations from taking the work of journalists and publishers without compensation.
Big Tech’s business model incentivizes disinformation – in some cases, it even boosts calls for violence. China and other foreign states are targeting this year’s U.S. presidential elections. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently summed up the crisis. “Our competitors and adversaries are using disinformation to exploit fissures within our democracies.”
Dominant online platforms pose many additional dangers to journalism, free speech, and democracy. This includes blocking U.S. citizens from sharing news with one another, starving publishers of advertising and readers, and simply appropriating news for their own purposes without compensation. And now AI can be deployed to amplify every one of these threats.
The timing could not be more critical, with vitally important elections this year in the U.S., Europe, and more than 50 countries around the world. The stability, even survival, of democracy is truly at risk.
Unfortunately, liberal democracies are still struggling to confront this multi-front attack on the systems we depend on to share news and ideas with one another. In fact, many of the ad hoc fixes put in place since Brexit and the U.S. election of 2016 are being abandoned by the platform monopolies, or are breaking down under the pressure of AI. And arguably, efforts to revive voluntary measures such as content moderation continue to divert attention from real solutions that would protect true freedom of speech and true freedom of the press.
This conference will focus on what we can do now to limit the harms this year, and how to prepare today to fully resolve the crisis after the next U.S. elections. We will leverage our unique understanding of the business models of leading tech and AI platforms to structure a fresh conversation among policymakers, journalists, and free speech and free press advocates, on how to protect democracy and national security in the 21st century, and rebuild a more peaceful and forward-looking society.
Welcoming Remarks
Barry Lynn, Executive Director, Open Markets Institute
Courtney Radsch, Director, Center for Journalism & Liberty
Keynote from Margrethe Vestager
Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition
Panel 1: Preventing Platforms from Manipulating Speech and Information
Mary Anne Franks, Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law, George Washington University Law School
Tara Pincock, Legal Counsel, Open Markets Institute
Zephyr Teachout, Professor of Law at Fordham University, Special Advisor for Economic Justice to New York AG Letitia James
Moderator: Courtney Radsch, Director, Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute
Fireside Chat with FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel
Moderated by Blake Montgomery, The Guardian
Panel 2: AI and Content – How We Can Stop the Theft and Save Journalism
Chris Argentieri, President & COO, LA Times
Kai Falkenberg, General Counsel for The Guardian US and Lecturer at Law at Columbia Law School
Moderator: Courtney Radsch, Director, Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute
Panel 3: Rethinking Cloud Governance in the Era of AI
John Pendleton, Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Justin Sherman, Founder and CEO, Global Cyber Strategies; Nonresident Fellow, Atlantic Council
Moderator: Karina Montoya, Senior Reporter, Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute
Keynote Speech by AAG Jonathan Kanter
Moderated by Kai Falkenberg, The Guardian
Panel 4: Ending Big Tech's Censorship and Manipulation
Sohrab Ahmari, Co-Founder and Editor, Compact Magazine
Chris Argentieri, President & COO, LA Times
Courtney Radsch, Director, Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute
Moderator: Betsy Reed, Editor, The Guardian US
Panel 5: Winning the Fight Against Disinformation & Manipulation of Elections
Cristina Caffarra, Co-Founder, Centre for Economic Policy Research
Sarah Myers West, Co-Executive Director, AI Now Institute
Sarah Kay Wiley, Policy Director, Check My Ads
Moderator: Barry Lynn, Executive Director, Open Markets Institute
Fireside Chat with Ambassador Katherine Tai, USTR
Moderated by Audrey Stienon, Open Markets Institute