Happy to participate in this roundtable (Disclosure: Knight is generously supporting my book leave):

Midway through a year rocked by a pandemic, protests and politics, we asked leading researchers and policy thinkers: What new questions relating to technology’s impact on democracy have emerged or are emerging during this period? In light of these new questions, what are your predictions for the rest of 2020?  

The responses we received over the summer were far-ranging, but they all underscore how significantly technology, especially social media, is shaping our understanding of this moment. 

The scholars are all members of the Knight Research Network, a growing group of research centers, universities and independent policy organizations supported  by Knight Foundation. The effort is part of a $50 million investment in new research to foster an informed public dialogue about the ways digital technology is changing our democracy. 

Their responses appear below, loosely organized by theme: The big picture, the 2020 election, the techlash, content moderation and free expression online, competition and antitrust, technology and inequality, and some final thoughts.