Combating Fake News and Censorship in the Digital Age: How the United Kingdom Serves as a Model for Future Regulatory Intervention in Multimedia M&A Deals

Authors

Jake Kline, J.D. Candidate 2020, Cornell Law School

Keywords

Multimedia mergers and acquisitions, Censorship

Abstract

This Note examines how countries should balance the delicate issue of promoting mergers and allowing business owners to make their own decisions while simultaneously preventing any corporation from cornering too large a portion of any multimedia market. While in the past the general public was concerned that their respective governments would suppress the freedom of the press, they now face the reality that corporations likewise engage in censorship activities. The sheer size of the top multimedia corporations today, compounded with unprecedented technological abilities to target each consumer individually, mean their influence upon their audiences has never been stronger. M&A deals this decade have only increased corporations' sway among the populace. This Note argues that in order to thwart multimedia companies from selectively promulgating self-serving propaganda and censoring stories that run contrary to their agendas, the general public should turn to their governments' regulatory agencies to restrict the amount of leverage these companies can attain, in the hopes that freedom of the press and unadulterated news can be available once more.

Recommended Citation

Kline, Jake (2019) "Combating Fake News and Censorship in the Digital Age: How the United Kingdom Serves as a Model for Future Regulatory Intervention in Multimedia M&A Deals," Cornell International Law Journal: Vol. 52: No. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj/vol52/iss2/7