From Gutenberg to the Internet

This book examines how the internet, and in particular social media platforms, have transformed the democratic process. In this ever-changing and rapidly evolving area of the law, social media platforms have had a profound impact, not only on U.S. politics, but on politics in countries around the world. Facebook and Twitter played a major role in the Arab Spring uprising in the Middle East. For example, in Egypt, where the firmly entrenched president Hosni Mubarak was ousted after protests that were coordinated through Facebook (now Meta) and Twitter (now X). In the U.S., in 2008, the internet and social media platforms helped fuel then–Senator Barrack Obama's successful presidential campaign. Senator Obama raised three-quarters of a billion dollars through the internet and social media. In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump effectively used social media to do an end-around the traditional media in his quest for the White House.

In recent years, the internet and social media have spawned lots of concerns and issues. For example, as social media platforms have expanded the ability of ordinary people to participate in the democratic process, they have led to an increased quantity of disinformation which has the potential to undercut the democratic process. As social media platforms have assumed increasing importance, they have been supplemented by other technologies such as robotic speech, including bots and chatbots. These new technologies can disseminate speech in mass, transforming the public dialogue. Finally, the book explores the impact of the internet and social media platforms on traditional media. As social media has become more important, traditional media has lost some of its prominence, but, at the same time, the internet has enabled the traditional media to assume different and evolving forms.