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Anatomy of platform power capitalism: Faces, forms, and regulation
Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7029-8936
Department of Communication Studies, University of Salzburg, Austria.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8950-1773
Responsible organisation
2026 (English)In: Digital Media Shadowing Democracy: Technology, Communication, and Power / [ed] A. Balčytienė, P. Bajomi-Lázár, & H. Sousa, Nordicom, University of Gothenburg , 2026, p. 259-282Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

This chapter examines the complex nature of platform power in the digital age and covers over 80 journal articles published between 2017 and 2025. Drawing from political economy literature and Bourdieu’s concepts of field and capital, we identify ten distinct forms of platform power: capital, political, control, data, infrastructure, hegemony, exploitation, commercialisation, corporate, and monopoly. We explore how super platforms acquire, exercise, and expand their influence, and show how Big Tech corporations undermine state sovereignty and fight regulatory efforts. Our findings highlight the immense economic and political leverage of these platforms and their ability to shape the global order. We argue that an integrated perspective is essential to comprehend the static and dynamic architecture of platform power in its complexity.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nordicom, University of Gothenburg , 2026. p. 259-282
Keywords [en]
platform power, BigTech power, faces and forms of Big Tech platform power, platform power capitalism
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Research subject
Media
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:norden:org:diva-13761DOI: 10.48335/9789189864290-13OAI: oai:DiVA.org:norden-13761DiVA, id: diva2:2058072
Available from: 2026-05-12 Created: 2026-05-06 Last updated: 2026-05-13

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
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