Public Interest Values Must Be the Foundation of a Better Internet

January marks the anniversary of a series of coordinated protests that led to the withdrawal of two proposed laws in the United States Congress: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA-PIPA showed the power of collective action, rooted in shared values, to shape the future of the internet. In the decade since the SOPA fight, new issues have risen based on the development of new innovations in technology and the challenges that they create. While we still fight over network neutrality and how to share creative works online, technology has developed new tools for communicating and using data that we were only beginning to understand a decade ago. These challenges are clear, but the public is still struggling to organize around how to account for the mess that they bring to our society. Civil society groups are growing and multiplying to match growth in innovation, but we must align on our goals – even if not always their tactics – in order to fully realize the opportunity to build a better internet. If we fail to find the balance between the promise of innovation and the accountability for it, we will continue to see it create great harm in our society. Communication is that powerful.

[Chris Lewis is Chief Executive Officer at Public Knowledge.]