Blog

The battle that right-holders have been waging against P2P users has proved largely unsuccessful so far. In the US, the methods used by the recording industry’s lobby (RIAA) to track down “pirates” are put into question; in France, the penal sanctions provided by a 2006 Act on author’s rights have had no effect in stopping illegal downloading, and the digital music market is still developing extremely slowly (8% of total music sales). This year in France, Sarkozy’s government claimed to have found the solution to this endemic problem with the… Lire la suite »Policing the Net: Copyright vs. Civil Liberties

I just read this interesting article by Henry Jenkins, the well-known media scholar. Even though this piece dates back to three years ago, it is still very relevant to the debate on the democratic impact that new media might have on the functioning of our democracies. Jenkins responds to some authors who bemoan the fragmentation of audiences across a wide variety of sources, arguing that the marginalization of mainstream broadcasters will undermine social cohesion and democratic participation. First, Jenkins says, new media won’t replace traditional media. The two will coexist… Lire la suite »Will New Media Dissolve the Political Community?

I wanted to have a sort of diary where I could write down observations and reflections about the way our society is being transformed by ICT, how they bring about social change. I used to want to work in the music industry and grew more and more fascinated by the way the internet transforms the way people access cultural goods thus challenging traditional business models. Then I realized I liked politics too much to just focus on the music sector. From a more global point of view, however, the digital… Lire la suite »Why this blog?