With the introduction of the new media and their capacity to store, distribute and/or conceal information at ever increasing levels, the issues of privacy and access to information have become increasingly important. This course looks at issues of access and equity, privacy and personal usage of the media in a global context. It will also cover matters relating to e-government, e-governance and e-democracy and the formation of the electronic public sphere. Finally, the course will examine the various national government attempts to control access to information and at the same time protect the communications rights of the citizen.