Who owns your For You page? | The Stream

Key Concepts

Algorithm Ownership and Control: The shift in media ownership from content creation to control over the underlying infrastructure, specifically algorithms.
Media Consolidation: The increasing concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few individuals or families, leading to potential monopolies.
Vertical Integration of Power: The interconnectedness of tech companies, media outlets, and political influence, creating a unified power structure.
Data Infrastructure and AI Training: The role of user data in training AI models and shaping the information landscape.
Political Influence and Regulatory Capture: The use of proximity to power and financial influence to gain regulatory approval for media deals.
Diversity and Objectivity in Journalism: The debate surrounding diversity in newsrooms and its impact on truth and reporting.
Decentralization of Power: The concern that power is shifting away from elected officials towards tech billionaires.
Awareness and Discourse: The importance of public awareness and open conversation in navigating the evolving media landscape.

Summary

This video transcript discusses a significant shift in the media landscape, moving beyond traditional content ownership to control over the underlying technological infrastructure, particularly algorithms. The core concern is the increasing consolidation of media power in the hands of a few individuals and families, exemplified by the Ellison family's potential acquisition of TikTok's US operations and their existing media holdings.

The Ellison Family's Expanding Media Empire

The transcript highlights the growing influence of the Ellison family, particularly Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, and his son David Ellison. David Ellison already owns a substantial portfolio of media brands, including CBS News and Nickelodeon. The potential acquisition of TikTok's US algorithm by Oracle, with Larry Ellison as a key figure, raises alarms about who controls the information flow to millions of users. The deal involves Oracle serving as TikTok's trusted security provider and retraining its algorithm, with a majority of American investors and a board with national security credentials. However, the transcript emphasizes that Larry Ellison is a significant donor to the IDF, adding a layer of political consideration.

The discussion points to a coordinated push towards tighter control over online content and sharing. The Ellison family's alleged pursuit of Warner Brothers Discovery, in addition to their existing media assets and potential TikTok acquisition, paints a picture of a family poised to control a vast amount of entertainment and news programming in the US. This consolidation is described as a potential monopoly, despite the companies operating as separate entities.

Shifting Forms of Media Ownership and Their Implications

Rodney Benson, a professor of media culture and communication, elaborates on the concerning forms of media ownership emerging. He identifies two key trends:

Dominant Shareholder/Private Owner: Where a single owner has significant discretion to use media for their own political and economic agendas.
Multi-Industry Conglomerates: These entities face conflicts of interest and vulnerabilities due to their subjectiveness to regulation and government contracts, creating intense political pressure.

Benson argues that the Ellisons embody these trends by combining extreme consolidation across legacy, cable, and social media, engaging in political pandering (following Trump's wishes), and leveraging their proximity to power for regulatory approval from the FCC and DOJ.

The Impact on Public Discourse and Diversity

The transcript explores the message sent by these ownership shifts, particularly concerning TikTok. Hu Rahman, founder of Interval News, suggests that TikTok has, to some extent, been free from the filtering seen on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google. The potential retraining of its algorithm by Oracle signals an increase in manipulation of content and worldviews for its large user base. The relationship between the Ellison family and Trump is cited as a factor in orchestrating these favorable developments.

Audrey Hansen, an investigative journalist, shares a clip illustrating the lack of awareness among users about who controls the platforms they engage with daily. The clip emphasizes that users are "working for" these powerful individuals, and while the "job" doesn't pay, it can have significant costs. Hansen points out the opacity of algorithms and the lack of oversight, making it difficult for users to understand when and how their feeds change. The consortium board for TikTok, with entities like Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, is presented as having significant overlap with Oracle's business sphere, suggesting a concentrated infrastructure.

The conversation then shifts to the impact on diversity in news corporations, using the example of Barry Weiss becoming the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Weiss's history of opposing diversity and her platform, "The Free Press," which she built on the argument that diversity compromises objectivity, are highlighted. The transcript notes that after CBS News was acquired by her platform, layoffs disproportionately affected producers of color, while white producers were reassigned. This is framed as a restructuring, but the evidence suggests a move away from diversity. The cancellation of Stephen Colbert's Late Show is also mentioned in this context, suggesting a rebranding and a move rightward, potentially influenced by pressure to secure mergers and deals.

The Interplay of Tech, Politics, and Power

The transcript delves into the intricate relationships between tech companies, political power, and the financial ecosystem. The financing moves between Oracle, OpenAI, and Nvidia are presented as a circular and potentially problematic arrangement. The transcript questions how OpenAI, described as not-for-profit and lacking its own substantial funds, can make a $100 billion investment into Oracle, which in turn invests $100 billion into Nvidia. This is explained through a complex web of corporate bonds and investments, where Nvidia invests in OpenAI, OpenAI buys capacity from Oracle, increasing Oracle's stock, and Oracle uses this to buy more chips from Nvidia.

This leads to a broader discussion about tech billionaires wielding significant power, potentially eclipsing that of elected officials. The transcript argues that tech billionaires owning media outlets (like Elon Musk with X and Jeff Bezos with The Washington Post) provides immense leverage in shaping public opinion and narratives. The favoritism shown by Trump towards the Ellison family for the TikTok deal is seen as evidence of this power dynamic.

The role of AI, with platforms like Google and OpenAI, in shaping information is also a critical point. The transcript suggests that the news we consume is not just from legacy or social media but also from these AI platforms, which filter and shape our understanding of the world. The lack of transparency in how these AI models are trained and what data they use is a significant concern.

The Future of Democracy and Control

The experts express concern about the future of democracy in this evolving landscape. Rodney Benson states that a healthy democracy requires accurate and fair information, a watchdog on power, and a forum for diverse views. He argues that critical voices are increasingly marginalized, often behind paywalls, while large-scale media that reach massive audiences are subject to political pressure.

Heimu responds to potential pushback from tech billionaires by pointing to specific instances, like Elon Musk's tweets and the filtering of content on platforms like Google. He shares an anecdote about a former Google employee whose job was to filter content based on government and executive opinions, often reframed as "national security." This highlights the arbitrary power to filter information.

Audrey Hansen concludes by emphasizing the need to be "loud about it as possible." She believes that bringing the names of powerful figures like Larry Ellison into the forefront is crucial, as they operate most effectively from the shadows. The core issue, she states, is that "we're living inside systems that were built for control, not conversation." The goal, she asserts, is to foster discourse and prevent the manipulation of information for data games or political weapons.

Conclusion

The transcript argues that the current media landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with power shifting from content ownership to control over technological infrastructure, particularly algorithms. The consolidation of media assets by a few powerful families, like the Ellisons, coupled with the intricate financial relationships between tech giants and the influence of AI, poses a significant threat to democratic discourse, diversity in journalism, and public awareness. The key takeaway is the urgent need for public awareness and open conversation to reclaim control over the information we consume and to ensure that systems are built for conversation rather than control.