IS41050 Platform Governance

Academic Year 2021/2022

The module is concerned with identifying and analysing digital platforms and the governance and policy issues they involve. In particular, while the early internet was a more or less anarchic space where users, companies, and public sector institutions were all operating in the same space, the shift towards platforms has carved this space between a set of increasingly powerful platforms owned by multinational corporations. Moreover, new entrants to the digital sphere often emulate the platform structure of these powerful actors. The internet, in its current form, is ‘platformised’. What does this mean for the digital economy? For politics? For our social and cultural life? How can we approach the regulation of platforms? How much control should platforms themselves have? Is self regulation sustainable? The module approaches this question by looking at the various articulations of platforms and social, political and economic life, considering platforms as powerful socio-technical actors whose operations have far reaching implications for society.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing this course students will:

Acquire a clear understanding of platforms as socio-technical systems
Identify the main tensions and dilemmas in platform governance and regulation
Critically analyse and evaluate different approaches to platform governance
Demonstrate a strong understanding of the platform ecosystem

Indicative Module Content:

What is governance?
The history of platforms
Platform economics
Platform diplomacy and relationships with politicians, experts and other stakeholders
Platform bureaucracy
Governing users
Governing contents
Alternative platforms
Platform labour and gig work
Platforms and the physical world, or how Airbnb restructures cities
Platforms and the Global South
The future of platforms

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24

Autonomous Student Learning

101

Total

125

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Classes will combine case study discussions, lectures, and debates 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: Two 2,000 assignments on two platform governance case studies Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded Yes

100


Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Jason Kalathas Tutor