A Genealogy of Digital Platform Regulation

Bietti, Elettra

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3859487

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…However, this "California Ideology," which married 1960s counter-cultural aesthetics and romantic individualism with the acquisitive logic of capitalism (Barbrook & Cameron, 1996;Streeter, 2011), also characterized the internet as an ungovernable space best left untouched by government. From the commercialization of the internet to the structuring of online speech laws, this tension would shape regulatory battles over the next two decades (Flew, 2021;Bietti, 2023).…”

Section: A Mixed Methods Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Governance via an “Anemic” Policy Regime? How Boundary Spanning, Competing Issue Definitions, Lack of Cohesion, and Administrative Fragmentation Impede Regulatory Reform

Rochefort

2023

SPIR

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Across the globe, lawmakers have enacted a range of reforms targeting the operation of large digital platforms. Within the United States, however, the push to regulate platform companies—specifically, social media—has faltered. Neither standard interest group politics, nor partisan deadlock, nor the clash of liberal versus conservative ideologies adequately account for this situation. Drawing upon historical sources, an examination of political-ideational foundations, and an empirical analysis of recent Congressional hearings, this paper argues that an “anemic” policy regime has emerged for governance of the social media sector in the United States over the past two decades. Key attributes of this regime—its boundary-spanning nature, competing issue definitions, lack of policy cohesion, and administrative fragmentation—combine to impede the capability for problem-solving on the topic of regulatory reform.

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Section: A Mixed Methods Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Governance via an “Anemic” Policy Regime? How Boundary Spanning, Competing Issue Definitions, Lack of Cohesion, and Administrative Fragmentation Impede Regulatory Reform

Rochefort

2023

SPIR

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“…Yet from a critical perspective, Big Tech self-disclosures may be little more than a reputation management tool; such transparency efforts may do little to alter the residual structural power of Big Tech (Bietti, 2023).…”

Section: Background and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transparency reports as CSR reports: motives, stakeholders, and strategies

Reid

Ringel

Pendleton

2023

SRJ

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to situate information and communications technology (ICT) “transparency reports” within the theoretical framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. The self-denominated transparency report serves a dual purpose of highlighting an ICT company’s socially responsible behavior while also holding government agencies accountable for surveillance and requests for user data. Drawing on legitimacy theory, neo-institutional theory and stakeholder theory, this exploratory study examines how ICT companies are implementing industry-specific voluntary disclosures as a form of CSR. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of ICT voluntary nonfinancial reporting (N = 88) was used to identify motivating principles, the company positioning to stakeholders, the relevant publics and intended audience of these disclosures and the communication strategy used to engage primary stakeholders. Findings Key findings suggest that most ICT companies used transparency reporting to engage consumers/users as their primary stakeholders and most used a stakeholder information strategy. A majority of ICT companies signaled value-driven motives in their transparency reports while also positioning the company to stakeholders as a protector of user data and advocate for consumer rights. Originality/value This study enriches the literature on CSR communication strategies and reporting practices by extending it to an underdeveloped topic of study: novel voluntary disclosures as CSR activities of prominent ICT companies (i.e. “Big Tech”). These polyphonic reports reflect varied motives, varied positioning and varied stakeholders. For market-leading companies, transparency reporting can serve to legitimize existing market power. And for midsize and emerging companies, transparency reporting can be used to signal adherence to industry norms – set by market-leading companies.

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“…Centering around the promotion of competition, it materialized in the European pursuit of market integration through economic liberalization, privatization, and reregulation policies (Daly, 2016). This neo‐liberal vision necessitates a division between the laws that regulate the public realm, aimed to guarantee the rule of law and fundamental rights, and the laws that govern economic matters (Bietti, 2021).…”

Section: Hypernudging In the European Digital Policy Agenda: Present ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypernudging in the changing European regulatory landscape for digital markets

Morozovaite

2022

Policy & Internet

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The European regulatory landscape for digital markets is undergoing a transformative change. There is an observed shift toward the protection of public values and fundamental rights, as the market mechanism and market values that traditionally led regulatory processes in digital markets seem to have fallen short. In the context of the user‐centric digital economy, a clear commitment to safeguarding citizens' interests is ever‐more salient. This article provides a comprehensive account of hypernudging—dynamically personalized user steering, which represents the next generation user influencing techniques online, with the potential to lead to multifaceted individual and collective harms. However, problematizing the phenomenon for digital policy purposes is not a straightforward task. Due to the complexity and opaqueness of its underlying mechanisms and effects, policymakers are operating under conditions of uncertainty, necessitating a shared understanding of what impact hypernudging has on users as well as crafting a shared vision of values that ought to be embedded and safeguarded in digital choice architectures. To highlight the developing European approach in relation to hypernudging, the assessment of the recent legislative initiatives—the Artificial Intelligence Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Digital Services Act—showcases underlying learning opportunities for addressing emergent challenges.

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A Genealogy of Digital Platform Regulation

Cited by 13 publications

References 48 publications

Social Media Governance via an “Anemic” Policy Regime? How Boundary Spanning, Competing Issue Definitions, Lack of Cohesion, and Administrative Fragmentation Impede Regulatory Reform

Social Media Governance via an “Anemic” Policy Regime? How Boundary Spanning, Competing Issue Definitions, Lack of Cohesion, and Administrative Fragmentation Impede Regulatory Reform

Transparency reports as CSR reports: motives, stakeholders, and strategies

Hypernudging in the changing European regulatory landscape for digital markets

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