Media and democracy: challenges and dilemmas of media regulation
| Autor | Gustavo Ferreira Santos |
| Ocupação do Autor | Professor at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil) |
| Páginas | 3150-3158 |
3150 • XXVI World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy
Media and democracy:
Challenges and dilemmas of media regulation
Gustavo Ferreira Santos12
Abstract: We cannot discuss democracy in complex societies without question-
ing the role of the media alongside the limits and possibilities of media account-
ability. Media regulation involves a huge number of constitutional issues. On
the one hand, the form of the constitution provides a set of fundamental rights
that protect individuals and groups from the violation of their rights in the way
they communicate. This includes freedom of speech and the press. On the other
hand, the democratic process calls for a balance between the various political po-
sitionsthatexistandthesetofconstitutionalvaluesrequiringaspecicpublic
policy to avoid the violation of this process. In fact, various policies are needed
to protect democracy from undesired phenomena such as media concentration,
the manipulation of content, the language produced by hate and the exposure
ofoensive contentto children Theseproblems becomeweightier whenthey
are broadcasted, with far-reaching consequences. The impact is deepened by the
newcommunicationtechnologiesandmorespecicallybyresourcesonthein-
ternet. Media regulation requires complex approaches because the debate which
considers the media before the state has always tended to be restricted to the
concept of freedom; constitutional institutions have almost always been left out
of the picture.
Keywords: Democracy. Media Regulation. Accountability.
Introduction
We live in an era which is marked by the highlighted presence
of communication media in social life. Alongside the classic means of
communication, we are always seeing the emergence of new possibili-
ties for communicating. Their reach poses problems which cannot be
1
Professor at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Federal University of Pernambuco,
Brazil)
2
Tradution: Peter Key
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