Democracia na sociedade algorítmica: Regulações para uma esfera pública conectada

Abstract

This research analyzes the changes brought to the public sphere by digital hyperconnectivity and its consequences for popular participation in contemporary democracies. Through bibliographic research and documental analysis, we seek to understand whether hyperconnectivity and the phenomena arising from it paradoxically constitute a threat to democracy, the representativeness of social groups and the vitality of institutions. From this hypothesis, it is considered which are the appropriate mechanisms to preserve the plural character of citizen participation by digital means in the public sphere without hindering the right to be informed and its compatibility with the autonomy of digital platforms. The aim is to demonstrate that, in the era of platformization and big data, the democratic role can be preserved through effective regulation, which reconciles freedom of expression with private autonomy, in a shared governance structure. Therefore, the present work was divided into three parts. The first deals with democratic construction in the public sphere. Habermas' concept of public sphere is used as a paradigm to assess the changes that political interactions on the internet have brought to the democratic system. The evolution of networks as a means of strengthening popular participation was also analyzed. The second part deals with the analysis of the technologies themselves, their structure, and their impact on the right to freedom of speech in its double dimension. The evolution of the internet from web 1.0 to the current platformization phase was traced, whose concept is key to understanding regulation as a possible solution. In addition, the meaning of algorithmic society was outlined, in Balkin's view, and its impacts on freedom of speech and the construction of the public agenda. At last, the third part addresses the regulatory mechanisms. State regulation and its limitations are analyzed, as well as contextualizing the approach brought by the European Union. The analysis focuses on the regulatory models of Lessig and Black. Finally, the regulated self-regulation of algorithms is proposed as an adequate regulatory mechanism to reconcile the rights of users, digital networks, and their owners, as well as the public and collective interest of preserving the democratic order.