Platform power in the video advertising ecosystem

Abstract

Platform power is a societal concern on many levels. Thus, we argue that addressing it with the common market competition approach is limited. The research we present aims to develop and test an alternative approach to conceptualising and assessing platform power. We propose a framework that operationalises the concept of the integrated platform ecosystem by bounding it with theories of harm to citizen wellbeing. Applying it, instead of defining a market, we use a specific, novel theory of harm to define the audiovisual advertising ecosystem. Our investigation into the dynamics of this ecosystem and conditions shaping them incorporated elite interviews with representatives of firms involved, document analysis and an examination of legal frameworks in a sample of four European jurisdictions. The evidence we present points to an inherent bias in the opacity of trading and to systemic advantage in relationship building, as well as potential power imbalances at 'nodes' where data is used for targeting, planning, and metrics. We discuss the policy implications of these findings and suggest specific questions for regulators to be asking. Issue 4 1. The European Commission's Directorate General for Competition has fined both Facebook and Google following recent investigations (see European Commission 2017a, 2017b & 2019) and in autumn 2019 US State Attorney Generals formally launched antitrust investigations into Facebook and Google's parent company Alphabet (see Paxton, 2019; James, 2019), followed shortly after by the US Department of Justice.

How partners mediate platform power: Mapping business and data partnerships in the social media ecosystem

“…Only a small number of firms can build both types of infrastructure due to exclusivity as governed through partnerships. This gives such firms positions of strategic power within the ecosystem where both social media and their partners benefit from relationship advantages and the lack of transparency in their platform (Broughton Micova and Jacques, 2020). Without such partners or the infrastructure they have built, there would not be the vast 'digital market infrastructure' (Mellet and Beauvisage, 2020).…”

“…Blanke and Pybus, 2020). However, there are also infrastructural and strategic forms and sources of power that can provide ‘a potential source of dominance’ for platforms (Broughton Micova and Jacques, 2020). Power is dispersed and exercised through infrastructure, wherein the gateway function of APIs is an important source for this ‘infrastructural power’ held by platforms (van Dijck et al., 2019).…”

“…Similarly, Braun highlighted the role of infrastructure in the exercise of ‘structural power’, influencing ‘who sees what content’ (2013: 126). Furthermore, platforms can accrue ‘strategic power’ through what Broughton Micova and Jacques (2020) call ‘relationship advantages’ (i.e. having direct close relationships with other actors in the network, e.g.…”

“…AppsFlyer, Comscore, and Nielsen) who validate the (self-reported) metrics of one or multiple platforms. In this role, measurement partners are important for advertisers to help develop trust in a platform’s reported metrics because these metrics may also become ‘a source of concern or even mistrust’ (Broughton Micova and Jacques, 2020), as prior controversies around advertising fraud (e.g. fraudulent representations of engagement or viewership metrics) have demonstrated (Vranica and Marshall, 2016).…”

“…We present an empirical method for tracing business partnerships and partner integrations and for visualising the partner relationship networks of the 20 most-used social media. We analyse which relationships are involved, which are exclusive or shared, and identify key sources and locations, or ‘nodes’, of power in this ecosystem (Broughton Micova and Jacques, 2020). Industry players, through partnerships and the software integrations they build, integrate social media platforms with what we call the audience economy – a complex global and interconnected marketplace of business intermediaries involved in the creation, commodification, analysis, and circulation of data audiences for purposes including but not limited to digital advertising and marketing.…”