Consumer Rights to Information in the Middle of Media Hegemony

Abstract

This paper discusses citizens' rights to information as consumers of mass media and social media. They areconsumers of information, and that information is a determining factor in their political choices. Media owners and managers have the power to intervene in the flow of information, so that consumers' rights to correct information are at risk of being violated. Because the owners and managers of these media have the technology that determines, and because the number of those who have this kind of power is not large, then this hegemony actually manifests in the ruling class in a country, even in the world we live in now. Antonio Gramsci, in his theory of hegemony, has explained this. Of course, the danger will be more vulnerable to emerging democratic countries, such as Indonesia. Therefore, the question of what the future holds for consumers' rights to information in the midst of this media hegemony is important to answer. In this article, the authors conclude that the future of consumer rights to information can be saved by strengthening the role of the middle class. The hope of saving consumers' right to information is to give the middle class an opportunity to continuously voice their interests. The government can still control it, but it must be on a measurable legal basis. On the other hand, the massive number of social media users in Indonesia is its own strength to deal with oligarchs and media hegemony, both at the domestic and global levels.