Ruling elites in Turkey try to control the flow of information and to establish a relationship with digital intermediaries similar to their relationship with the mainstream media, states a new study. Power relations and the Turkish media environment are examined by Aras Coskuntuncel of the American University. The article analyses the relationship between the Turkish government and media companies, including digital networking platforms.

An important concept in this topic is the privatisation of governance, the author writes. Information flows are increasingly governed by private companies: regulating content, governing expression, and carrying out law enforcement functions. This is often done using arrangements of technical infrastructure, such as search engines deleting critical content from their results and internet service providers banning access to certain websites. When governance is privatized, governments appear unaccountable for changes they have initiated.

The article “Privatization of Governance, Delegated Censorship, and Hegemony in the Digital Era: The case of Turkey” was published in Journalism Studies and is available online (free abstract).

Picture: You can’t shut me up by Jennifer Moo, license CC BY-ND 2.0