What was once seen as a “new economic” engine designed to bring unvarnished information to the masses has been taken over by the robber barons known as Digital Cartels. Robert McChesney, author of Digital Disconnect, discusses how Big Corporations are dominating not only the internet but access to it. He elaborates how digital empires like Google, Twitter, Verizon, Amazon, Comcast to name a few have grown into “Digital Cartels” wielding enormous power over internet users including invasion of every user’s privacy. These “cartels” capture personal information unbeknownst to you, the user, then turns around and sells this information to advertisers resulting in enormous profits for them and you being stalked by advertisers. McChesney also touches on the ever growing spying and surveillance network set up by the feds.

It’s infuriating that what was once seen as great tool for democracy and an equalizer of sorts has been taken over by a bunch of greedy control freaks.

by Victor Pickard, University of Pennsylvania –

This important book is mandatory reading for anyone concerned about the future of digital media and democracy. McChesney convincingly shows how the internet’s promise for democratic renewal has been thwarted by government-enabled corporate exploitation. He lays bare how the celebrated openness of new digital media and its capacity for sustainable journalism are imperiled by the savage logic of unregulated capitalism.

Thorough and measured, McChesney brings a level of scholarly rigor too often lacking in this space. His writing is engaging, entertaining, and clear – not overly technical or trivial like much commentary about the internet. Critically, he shows how the internet crisis is at heart a political economic problem—one that will require grassroots activism and policy interventions to remedy. He provides us with the analytical tools to look beyond the hype and work toward real structural reform in our digital media system. Above all, McChesney offers a vision for a more democratic future. Indeed, he encourages us to demand it.

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