The Rhetoric of a Juggernaut: AOLTimeWarners Internet Policy Statement

Abstract

This paper addresses an issue of public policy regarding the Internet. It is motivated by the belief that the Internet is in danger of being controlled by a few mega-corporations. We seek to understand the nature of such control by performing a textual analysis of the 'Internet Policy Statement' released by AOLTimeWarner in 2001. Our analysis reveals hidden assumptions, ideology and metaphor; highlights how rhetoric influences social expectations; and generally helps us make sense of the words of a mega-corporate managerial elite and how this elite views the Internet. We reveal a self-serving and persuasive public policy statement made by a corporate Juggernaut.