The Public Square Project Reimagining Our Digital Future

Western democracy has always been anchored by the idea of a public space where people gather to share ideas, mediate difference, and make sense of the world. When Facebook blocked Australian users from viewing or sharing news in 2021, it sounded the alarm worldwide on our growing reliance on global tech companies to fulfil this critical role in a digital world. Facebook's hostile act, constituting a very real threat to participatory democracy, was a direct response to government attempts to regulate Big Tech's advertising monopoly and to mediate its impact on public interest journalism. The conflict sparked a new sense of urgency around the growing movement to imagine alternative digital spaces that operate in the public interest rather than simply for a commercial bottom line. Can we create sustainable media models to help us tackle society's problems? Can we engender a civic platform built on facts and civility? Can we control the power of our data and use it to promote the common good? The Public Square Project draws together leading tech scholars, industry experts, writers, and activists to chart a path towards a public square worthy of the name.

Jordan is a digital strategist with 14 years' experience in digital transformation, digital policy and social media strategy for the media, broadcasting, financial industries and more. He is the former Head of Social Media for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Special Broadcasting Service. In 2018/19 he lived at Silicon Valley and worked with the most prominent technology companies, gaining unique insights into the technology capital of the world. Peter Lewis is the founder of the Australia Institute’ s Centre for Responsible Technology, a passion project to hold Big Tech to account. By day, he is the executive director of Essential Media, Australia’ s leading progressive strategic communications agency. He is a columnist with Guardian Australia and a regular media commentator on politics and technology. He is the author of five books including ‘ Webtopia – The World Wide Wreck of Tech and How to Make the Net Work’ . Before establishing Essential Media he worked as a journalist and political adviser. He spends most of his time in his roof i