Can the internet be reclaimed from Big Tech?

NPR. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrian Ma. For decades, there's been this popular idea about the Internet and social media in particular that they're sort of like a digital town square, a place where people can gather, share ideas, dialogue, and debate. And in this view of the Internet, Facebook, YouTube, and X aren't just machines for spreading memes and misinformation. They're platforms for exercising that most hallowed of American rights, the right to free speech. And it's an alluring idea because it gives a sort of noble justification for all the messiness that we see online. But if you were to ask Olivier Sylvain, this view of the Internet as the sacred zone for free speech is really a myth and one that's doing us more harm than good. These are not passive, neutral conduits. Right? These are entities that are making decisions about content delivery, but they can never be held accountable for it. Olivier is a professor at Fordham Law School who studies communications and information law. He recently published a book called Reclaiming the Internet, How Big Tech Took Control and How We Can Take It Back. Today on the show, he lays out his argument for why he thinks a libertarian myth of the Internet has given big tech too much power and the changes he'd like to see to give some of that power back to the people. This message comes from Insperity, providing HR services and technology from payroll, benefits, and HR compliance to talent development. Learn more at insperity.com/hrmatters. This message comes from Takeoff by IXL, the k through five core math curriculum that continuously differentiates learning. Everything teachers need to personalize instruction is on Takeoff's digital platform. Learn more at takeoff by ixl.com. This message comes from NPR sponsor Charles Schwab with its original podcast on investing. It's hosted by Liz Ann Saunders, Schwab's chief investment strategist, and Colin Martin, head of fixed income research and strategy for the Schwab Center for Financial Research. Each week, Liz Ann, Colin, and their guests analyze economic developments and bring context to conversations around stocks, fixed income, the economy, and more. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com/oninvesting or wherever you get your podcasts. As Olivier Solvain tells it, the nineteen nineties were a really idealistic time for the early Internet. You see people writing about how the Internet would, displace governments and allow people, users, end users finally govern themselves. You no longer have to rely on a publisher to distribute the ideas. You can go to electronic bulletin board to find news and not have to, you know, worry about the editors at a newspaper. So there was something about what was happening on the Internet, in the nineteen nineties that felt especially liberation liberate liberatory, I should say. And that's where the libertarian idea sets in. Right? It's this notion that governments are getting in the way. This skepticism towards government's regulation of the Internet was …