The European Union and the information society

Abstract

In this article, critical discourse analysis is utilized to scrutinize the discursive structure of an increasingly contested debate over the social, cultural and economic impact of the ‘information society’ within the European Union (EU). This debate has informed the development of information policy goals and affected their implementation. This analysis builds upon previous critiques of language and policy by focusing on language as a mode of social action. Four major discourses are identified: threat/opportunity, technological determinism, market dominance and citizen vs consumer. Despite the articulation of a broad set of policy goals, it is argued that these discourses act to structure the debate in such a way that its economic parameters become privileged, at the expense of social and cultural factors. Further, it is contended that this has consequences for information policy, and the type of information society that will ultimately be achieved.