The People Vs Tech:

How the Internet is Killing Democracy (and how We Save It)   Jamie Bartlett

April 29th 2020


Jamie Bartlett is an Author, journalist and up until 2017 the Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos. He has written several books of which The People VS Tech is the latest one. Published in 2018, People Vs Tech is a rather gloomy book with several speculations and exaggerations but nonetheless an important introduction to how technology is shaping our governments.

Being in the US during Donald Trump’s victory of the 2016 election, I saw the shock and upset throughout my college community. Being an international student and apathetic about politics, I didn’t quite feel the weight of the election results. However, seeing fellow students tear up after the results, you could sense the apprehension especially in students of color. Personally, this was the first time that I actually felt the impact of technology and especially social media on politics. Recently, Facebook came under huge scrutiny for not fact-checking political ads on its platform. Jamie Bartlett brings up an important point that social media companies have been able to get away with not fact-checking political ads and stories because they function as a platform rather than a publisher and therefore are not legally liable.

“ Social media platforms insist they are ‘platforms and not publishers which means, unlike newspapers they arent legally liable for the content they host. This protection (known as the ‘mere conduit’ closure under EU law) is extremely important for companies like Facebook or Youtube because without it they would have to somehow check the billions of pieces of content uploaded to their sites. “

Facebook alone has not just changed how we connect with people but also how we get our news, at least for me. Convenience has brought immense dependence. Yes, we could all go to CNN, BBC, or other news outlets but it is much more convenient to scroll endlessly on Facebook to see the same news while also seeing what your friends are up to. We increasingly depend on Facebook for our news. Also, it is very hard to avoid news and stories on Facebook even if you wanted none of it. I digress but the point is that these “platforms” are longer just platforms but have become an important source of news and should be accordingly held accountable.

Bartlett argues that the six ‘pillars’ of democracy: active citizens, a shared culture, free elections, stakeholder equality, a competitive economy, and civic freedom, and trust in authority is gradually being eroded by digital technology which will eventually leave democracy obsolete. Although the erosions of these pillars are talked about in detail, the solution/suggestion “ 20 ideas to save democracy” is rather vague, general, and short.

One of the biggest criticisms from several other book reviews that I read about People VS Tech is about the lack of sources and the speculations. Additionally, I also felt that Bartlett oftentimes exaggerates stories and their impact.

“ Already there is a proliferation of well-meaning apps designed to help you decide how to vote. You put in your views and preferences and the machine spits out a party for you. Nearly five million Brits have already used the voting app ‘iSideWith’ in multiple elections. The fact that five million people asked an app that they barely understood how to fulfill their most important duty as a citizen bothered exactly no one. “

The author implies that simply using the apps means that the citizen doesn’t know who to vote for and hence unable to fulfill their basic responsibility which is not true. And secondly, even if they don’t know who to vote for, this app assists you on who to vote for which is much better than not knowing anything and voting or not voting. Also, the author leaves out an important aspect of the app, it also highlights third party candidates which are often overlooked in mainstream media.

Here is another instance where the author’s exaggeration makes you question if it is meant as a hyperbole or a joke.

“ By cross-referencing fridge data against the number of emotional words in your Facebook posts, Cambridge Analytica or some other company will correlate that you’re more angry when you’re hungry. Further analysis will calculate that people who are angry are more likely to vote for ‘law and order candidates’. Armed with your fridge data, smart car data, work calendar data and Facebook data, your smart TV will fire a personalised, crime-related ad at you just at the moment you’re starting to feel peckish “

All in all the book serves the purpose of educating and making people aware of the implication of technological progress. This book is a must read to at least introduce yourself to how the very social media applications you love are impacting democracy and changing the political landscape.

“ Not enough people are sufficiently worried about this. Liberating gadgets and tech feel intuitive like they’re good for democracy because they’re good for individual freedom. But that blinds us to the larger problems.


Interesting Fact!

Did you know that during the 2016 election, some of Donald Trump’s facebook post were actually written by others. Bartlett’s encounter with Theresa who worked for the trump campaign during the election is fascinating and actually one of the strongest points in showing how democracy is being eroded with digital technology.

“ When I was at Alamo, Theresa told me that she wrote many of Donald Trump’s Facebook posts. That was odd. I’d always assumed Trump wrote his own posts. I’d read many of them, and they certainly sounded like him. Nope, it was Theresa, sitting in her San Antonio office. ‘I channelled Mr Trump,’ she told me, smiling. ‘How do you channel someone like Donald Trump?’ I asked. ‘A lot of believe mes, a lot of alsos, a lot of verys . . . he was really wonderful to write for. It was so refreshing. It was so authentic.’ She seemed unaware of the irony. ”


Author Jamie Bartlett on Internet killing Democracy