Author: Paris Marx, Lizzie O’Shea

Paris Marx is joined by Lizzie O’Shea to discuss how Australia’s plan to make Google and Facebook pay news publishers entrenches a data-extractive business model and aligns the interests of tech giants and media companies against those of the public.

Lizzie O’Shea is a human rights lawyer and the founder of Digital Rights Watch. She’s also the author of “Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us about Digital Technology.” Follow Lizzie on Twitter as @Lizzie_OShea.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Lizzie wrote about the problems with this plan for Overland Journal and Nikkei Asia.
• Paris wrote about why we shouldn’t link big tech and news giants for Tribune Magazine.
• Facebook restricted news sharing in Australia, while Google has signed deals with News Corp, Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media, and more for its News Showcase.
• Australia has among the most concentrated media ownership in the world. Former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull called for a royal commission on Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
• Australia’s competition regulator released a digital platforms report with recommendations that included the bargaining code in 2019.
• Canada and the European Union may copy Australia’s model. French publishers are already getting paid by Google.

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Paris Marx is joined by Lizzie O’Shea to discuss how learning about history can empower us to imagine more radical futures, how COVID-19 could create the opportunity to demand a better world, and how the praise for essential workers could help us rethink our ideas about work and the economy.

Lizzie O’Shea is the author of “Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us about Digital Technology.” She is also the founder and chair of Digital Rights Watch. She recently wrote about how there is no such thing as unskilled labor for The Baffler. Follow Lizzie on Twitter as @Lizzie_OShea.

The photo of the Paris Commune mentioned in the episode can be found here.

Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

Support the show