It’s a post 9-11 communications world. E-mail is polluted with obnoxious spam and data-eating viruses. Governments are nervously trying to bring order to the chaos through regulation — the very instrument that was labelled during the ‘90’s as offensive to progress. The “information wants to be free” rally cry of early Internet libertarians has been replaced by the “information needs to be monitored” cry of the new surveillance society.
In this new collection, noted Canadian academics and activists explore critical communications issues, from meaningful citizen engagement in public policy debate to privacy protection in the emerging health infostructure. Contributors include Vincent Mosco, Queen’s University, Darin Barney, McGill University, Ellen Balka, Simon Fraser University, and Robert Babe, Jean Monty Chair of Media Studies, University of Western Ontario.