Innovations in communication and information technology have generated controversies over their political implications. From the printing press to the Internet, debate has revolved around utopian versus dystopian outcomes.

In this keynote speech delivered at the Networked Society Symposium 2016 at the University of Melbourne, Prof William H Dutton addresses the role of the internet and related communication technologies in social and political power shifts.

Prof Dutton focuses on the use of the Internet and related technologies in shaping an emerging Fifth Estate composed of networked individuals able to use the Internet strategically to hold institutions, and other estates and of the Internet realm, more accountable.

For show notes and accompanying slides to this talk visit networkedsociety.unimelb.edu.au/