Jonathan Obar
Jonathan Obar, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at York University. He also serves as a Research Fellow with the Quello Center at Michigan State University.
Antitrust and Competition
Social Media Clickwraps and the “Manufacture of Consent”
A new study identifies a political economic interface design strategy that threatens privacy protections by maintaining “the biggest lie on the internet.”
We check the...
Latest news
News
Prison Labor Can Create Perverse Incentives for Incarceration and Reduce Trust in Legal Institutions
Government proponents of prison labor should be mindful of the potential for negative effects, including increased incarceration rates and citizens’ deteriorating views...
COMMENTARIES
Bethany McLean’s Weekend Reading List: Robinhood, Quibi, and Corporate America’s Addiction to Debt
Corruption, lobbying, corporate malfeasance, and frauds: a weekly unconventional selection of must-read articles by investigative journalist Bethany McLean.
Antitrust and Competition
How Germany Managed to Outlaw Facebook’s Core Business Model
In a surprise ruling last month, the German Federal Court of Justice determined that Facebook must comply with an earlier decision by...
Coronavirus
Tailoring Lockdowns for Developing Countries
The Covid-19 pandemic has decimated livelihoods in developing nations, and coronavirus-related deaths are rising in Africa and South Asia at an alarming...
Antitrust and Competition
Why Most Advertisers Can’t Afford to Boycott Facebook
While big brands can afford to pause their addiction to Facebook, most advertisers cannot participate, as they have become so dependent on...
Coronavirus
Can Covid-19 Erode Young Individuals’ Trust in Politics for Decades to Come?
A new study shows that exposure to an epidemic during one's “impressionable years” (18-25) has a persistent negative effect on trust in...
Antitrust and Competition
The United States: An Exceptional Case? A Webinar With Stephen Haber, Richard R. John, and Luigi Zingales
Many see the US as a land where free markets and antitrust enforcement have historically kept monopolies under control. But is that...
