#platformpower — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #platformpower, aggregated by home.social.
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Soft Censorship Requires No Bans
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — August 20, 2026, 17:35 PHST
Censorship is commonly understood as removal: content is banned, blocked, or deleted by an identifiable authority. This understanding no longer captures how information control operates in large-scale digital systems. In modern platforms, suppression rarely requires prohibition. It requires only reduced visibility.
This essay advances a single claim: when information access is mediated by ranking systems, suppression can occur through obscurity rather than removal, making censorship both quieter and more durable.
Visibility as the Real Control Point
In digital environments, information does not need to be erased to be neutralized. If content cannot be easily found, it effectively ceases to exist for most users. Discovery, not publication, becomes the decisive threshold.
Ranking systems determine which sources appear prominently and which are buried beneath layers of results rarely explored. These systems operate continuously, invisibly adjusting what is seen first, what is seen later, and what is functionally unseen.
Control over visibility is control over relevance.
Downranking as a Suppressive Tool
Soft censorship operates through mechanisms such as downranking, demonetization, and reduced recommendation. Content remains technically available, but its reach collapses. The absence of explicit prohibition allows platforms to deny censorship while achieving similar outcomes.
Because no rule violation is publicly declared, affected creators and publishers often lack clarity about why visibility declined. There is no formal accusation to contest and no clear decision to appeal.
Suppression becomes procedural rather than declarative.
The Advantage of Invisibility
Soft censorship benefits from ambiguity. Without bans or blocks, there is no clear moment of enforcement and no obvious authority to challenge. Responsibility is diffused across systems, models, and automated processes.
This ambiguity protects platforms from accountability while leaving affected parties uncertain and isolated. Declines in visibility can be attributed to market forces, audience behavior, or algorithmic updates rather than deliberate intervention.
The outcome remains the same regardless of explanation.
Behavioral Adaptation
When visibility determines survival, behavior adapts. Publishers alter language, tone, and framing to align with perceived ranking preferences. Topics are avoided. Claims are softened. Complexity is reduced.
This adaptation occurs without instruction or coercion. It emerges from incentive alignment. Over time, the range of visible discourse narrows, not through force, but through optimization.
Self-censorship becomes a rational response.
Why Removal Is No Longer Necessary
Hard bans generate resistance, publicity, and legal scrutiny. Soft suppression generates none of these. Content remains accessible in theory, satisfying formal commitments to openness, while disappearing in practice.
This method is scalable, deniable, and resilient. It does not rely on constant enforcement. It relies on design.
Once implemented, it becomes the default mode of control.
Structural Consequences
Soft censorship produces predictable effects:
- controversial or nonconforming material loses reach
- minority and specialized viewpoints fade from visibility
- correction lags amplification
- conformity outperforms originality
These outcomes do not require coordination or intent. They arise from systems that prioritize engagement and predictability over pluralism.
Control Without Declaration
The absence of bans does not indicate the absence of censorship. It indicates a more advanced form of it. When suppression operates through obscurity, authority no longer needs to announce itself.
Information remains available. Access does not.
This distinction defines the modern information environment.
This essay will be added to the WPS News monthly briefing or monthly brief available at Amazon.
References
Balkin, J. M. (2018). Free speech in the algorithmic society. UC Davis Law Review, 51(3), 1149–1210.
Gillespie, T. (2018). Custodians of the Internet. Yale University Press.
Klonick, K. (2017). The new governors: The people, rules, and processes governing online speech. Harvard Law Review, 131(6), 1598–1670.
Roberts, S. T. (2019). Behind the screen: Content moderation in the shadows of social media. Yale University Press.
#algorithmicSuppression #contentModeration #digitalGovernance #informationVisibility #mediaSystems #platformPower #softCensorship -
In Deutschland nutzen mehrere Landespolizeien aktiv Palantir (Bayern, Hessen, NRW). Weitere Länder prüfen oder planen den Einsatz (z. B. Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg).
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In Deutschland nutzen mehrere Landespolizeien aktiv Palantir (Bayern, Hessen, NRW). Weitere Länder prüfen oder planen den Einsatz (z. B. Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg).
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#Answers Instead of #Feeds 🧭 Instead of scrolling endlessly, users ask #AIsystems directly, which will deliver #news, #backgroundinformation and even #videos.
#Content is Becoming #Personalised 🎬 Content is no longer a »one-size-fits-all« approach, but varies according to the individual’s interests.
New #PlatformPower ⚡️ When #AImedia decides what is generated and distributed, power shifts from platforms and influencers to AI models.
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#Answers Instead of #Feeds 🧭 Instead of scrolling endlessly, users ask #AIsystems directly, which will deliver #news, #backgroundinformation and even #videos.
#Content is Becoming #Personalised 🎬 Content is no longer a »one-size-fits-all« approach, but varies according to the individual’s interests.
New #PlatformPower ⚡️ When ‘AI decides what is generated and distributed, power shifts from platforms and influencers to AI models.
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#Answers Instead of #Feeds 🧭 Instead of scrolling endlessly, users ask #AIsystems directly, which will deliver #news, #backgroundinformation and even #videos.
#Content is Becoming #Personalised 🎬 Content is no longer a »one-size-fits-all« approach, but varies according to the individual’s interests.
New #PlatformPower ⚡️ When #AImedia decides what is generated and distributed, power shifts from platforms and influencers to AI models.
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#Answers Instead of #Feeds 🧭 Instead of scrolling endlessly, users ask #AIsystems directly, which will deliver #news, #backgroundinformation and even #videos.
#Content is Becoming #Personalised 🎬 Content is no longer a »one-size-fits-all« approach, but varies according to the individual’s interests.
New #PlatformPower ⚡️ When #AImedia decides what is generated and distributed, power shifts from platforms and influencers to AI models.
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🎬 🔥 Live content alert! @ozoned is streaming on Owncast: https://stream.ozoned.net/
#TedCruz #Section230 #PlatformPower #SocialMediaRegulation #owncast #livestream #stream #selfhosted
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🎬 🔥 Live content alert! @ozoned is streaming on Owncast: https://stream.ozoned.net/
#TedCruz #Section230 #PlatformPower #SocialMediaRegulation #owncast #livestream #stream #selfhosted
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🎬 🔥 Live content alert! @ozoned is streaming on Owncast: https://stream.ozoned.net/
#TedCruz #Section230 #PlatformPower #SocialMediaRegulation #owncast #livestream #stream #selfhosted
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🎬 🔥 Live content alert! @ozoned is streaming on Owncast: https://stream.ozoned.net/
#TedCruz #Section230 #PlatformPower #SocialMediaRegulation #owncast #livestream #stream #selfhosted
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Platforms operate globally.
Democracy remains local.Conflicts between them aren’t anomalies — they’re the future.
https://open.substack.com/pub/lawrencenault/p/freedomgov-and-the-new-geography
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Borders no longer end at maps.
They extend into the networks that decide what the world is allowed to see.My latest essay explores digital sovereignty, platform authority, and the emerging geography of truth.
https://open.substack.com/pub/lawrencenault/p/freedomgov-and-the-new-geography
#DigitalSovereignty #PlatformPower #MediaLiteracy #Geopolitics #InternetGovernance
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I studied 10 years of Instagram posts. Here’s how social media has changed
#Instagram #Meta #SocialMedia #Algorithms #AI #Trends #DigitalCulture #MediaStudies #Journalism #PlatformPower #UserBehavior #OnlineSociety #Enshittification #Reels
https://the-14.com/i-studied-10-years-of-instagram-posts-heres-how-social-media-has-changed/ -
I studied 10 years of Instagram posts. Here’s how social media has changed
#Instagram #Meta #SocialMedia #Algorithms #AI #Trends #DigitalCulture #MediaStudies #Journalism #PlatformPower #UserBehavior #OnlineSociety #Enshittification #Reels
https://the-14.com/i-studied-10-years-of-instagram-posts-heres-how-social-media-has-changed/ -
I studied 10 years of Instagram posts. Here’s how social media has changed
#Instagram #Meta #SocialMedia #Algorithms #AI #Trends #DigitalCulture #MediaStudies #Journalism #PlatformPower #UserBehavior #OnlineSociety #Enshittification #Reels
https://the-14.com/i-studied-10-years-of-instagram-posts-heres-how-social-media-has-changed/ -
I studied 10 years of Instagram posts. Here’s how social media has changed
#Instagram #Meta #SocialMedia #Algorithms #AI #Trends #DigitalCulture #MediaStudies #Journalism #PlatformPower #UserBehavior #OnlineSociety #Enshittification #Reels
https://the-14.com/i-studied-10-years-of-instagram-posts-heres-how-social-media-has-changed/ -
OpenAI will put ads in ChatGPT. This opens a new door for dangerous influence
#Tech #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAI #ChatGPT #Ads #Tech #Media #Ethics #Chatbots #GenerativeAI #BigTech #SurveillanceCapitalism #DigitalRights #Privacy #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/openai-will-put-ads-in-chatgpt-this-opens-a-new-door-for-dangerous-influence/ -
OpenAI will put ads in ChatGPT. This opens a new door for dangerous influence
#Tech #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAI #ChatGPT #Ads #Tech #Media #Ethics #Chatbots #GenerativeAI #BigTech #SurveillanceCapitalism #DigitalRights #Privacy #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/openai-will-put-ads-in-chatgpt-this-opens-a-new-door-for-dangerous-influence/ -
OpenAI will put ads in ChatGPT. This opens a new door for dangerous influence
#Tech #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAI #ChatGPT #Ads #Tech #Media #Ethics #Chatbots #GenerativeAI #BigTech #SurveillanceCapitalism #DigitalRights #Privacy #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/openai-will-put-ads-in-chatgpt-this-opens-a-new-door-for-dangerous-influence/ -
OpenAI will put ads in ChatGPT. This opens a new door for dangerous influence
#Tech #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAI #ChatGPT #Ads #Tech #Media #Ethics #Chatbots #GenerativeAI #BigTech #SurveillanceCapitalism #DigitalRights #Privacy #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/openai-will-put-ads-in-chatgpt-this-opens-a-new-door-for-dangerous-influence/ -
Sunday Paper: Markdown’s Quiet Power, Systems, AWS’s Reality Check, Apple’s Creator Studio
Sunday Paper is where I jot down links and ideas that caught my attention this week, with a few personal reactions along the way.https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-markdown-systems-power-and-platforms/
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Sunday Paper: Markdown’s Quiet Power, Systems, AWS’s Reality Check, Apple’s Creator Studio
Sunday Paper is where I jot down links and ideas that caught my attention this week, with a few personal reactions along the way.https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-markdown-systems-power-and-platforms/
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Conversational AI doesn’t show you options. It shows you the answer. When the first recommendation becomes default behavior, influence turns into infrastructure—and commerce quietly reorganizes around it. #AIethics #PlatformPower
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Conversational AI doesn’t show you options. It shows you the answer. When the first recommendation becomes default behavior, influence turns into infrastructure—and commerce quietly reorganizes around it. #AIethics #PlatformPower
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Conversational AI doesn’t show you options. It shows you the answer. When the first recommendation becomes default behavior, influence turns into infrastructure—and commerce quietly reorganizes around it. #AIethics #PlatformPower
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Conversational AI doesn’t show you options. It shows you the answer. When the first recommendation becomes default behavior, influence turns into infrastructure—and commerce quietly reorganizes around it. #AIethics #PlatformPower
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Microsoft's AI adoption report saturated LinkedIn within 72 hours of publication—same statistics, identical imagery, coordinated resharing. The company designed share-ready content with a button pointing directly to LinkedIn, which it owns. When you control the platform, distribution becomes internal coordination rather than external marketing.
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Microsoft's AI adoption report saturated LinkedIn within 72 hours of publication—same statistics, identical imagery, coordinated resharing. The company designed share-ready content with a button pointing directly to LinkedIn, which it owns. When you control the platform, distribution becomes internal coordination rather than external marketing.
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We keep arguing about “AI” as if it has a stable definition.
It doesn’t—and it won’t—because “intelligence” is a moving target, and every definition depends on where someone’s work (or fear, or incentives) intersects with the tech.
That’s why debates keep collapsing into talking past each other: we’re not using the same word.
#AI #TechPolicy #MediaLiteracy #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
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We keep arguing about “AI” as if it has a stable definition.
It doesn’t—and it won’t—because “intelligence” is a moving target, and every definition depends on where someone’s work (or fear, or incentives) intersects with the tech.
That’s why debates keep collapsing into talking past each other: we’re not using the same word.
#AI #TechPolicy #MediaLiteracy #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
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We keep arguing about “AI” as if it has a stable definition.
It doesn’t—and it won’t—because “intelligence” is a moving target, and every definition depends on where someone’s work (or fear, or incentives) intersects with the tech.
That’s why debates keep collapsing into talking past each other: we’re not using the same word.
#AI #TechPolicy #MediaLiteracy #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
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We keep arguing about “AI” as if it has a stable definition.
It doesn’t—and it won’t—because “intelligence” is a moving target, and every definition depends on where someone’s work (or fear, or incentives) intersects with the tech.
That’s why debates keep collapsing into talking past each other: we’re not using the same word.
#AI #TechPolicy #MediaLiteracy #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
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Rage bait: the psychology behind social media’s angriest posts
#RageBait #SocialMedia #Psychology #DigitalBehavior #OnlineAnger #Algorithms #MediaManipulation #DigitalWellbeing #MentalHealthOnline #TechCritique #OnlineSafety #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/rage-bait-the-psychology-behind-social-medias-angriest-posts/ -
Rage bait: the psychology behind social media’s angriest posts
#RageBait #SocialMedia #Psychology #DigitalBehavior #OnlineAnger #Algorithms #MediaManipulation #DigitalWellbeing #MentalHealthOnline #TechCritique #OnlineSafety #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/rage-bait-the-psychology-behind-social-medias-angriest-posts/ -
Rage bait: the psychology behind social media’s angriest posts
#RageBait #SocialMedia #Psychology #DigitalBehavior #OnlineAnger #Algorithms #MediaManipulation #DigitalWellbeing #MentalHealthOnline #TechCritique #OnlineSafety #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/rage-bait-the-psychology-behind-social-medias-angriest-posts/ -
Rage bait: the psychology behind social media’s angriest posts
#RageBait #SocialMedia #Psychology #DigitalBehavior #OnlineAnger #Algorithms #MediaManipulation #DigitalWellbeing #MentalHealthOnline #TechCritique #OnlineSafety #DigitalCulture #PlatformPower
https://the-14.com/rage-bait-the-psychology-behind-social-medias-angriest-posts/ -
Google rolls out Gemini 2.0 while the regulators open scissors to cut the empire. Intelligence in the feed, dominance in the code.
🔍👁 #SurveillanceTech #AIAgents #PlatformPower
https://apnews.com/article/e45758d1198a13e322db0fc208dea621 -
Platformmacht: het onverwachte risico voor bedrijven. Blijf alert en bescherm je onderneming! 🚀 #BusinessRisk #PlatformPower
https://itinsights.nl/zakelijke-it/platformmacht-als-onvoorspelbaar-bedrijfsrisico/ -
The American TikTok deal doesn’t address the platform’s potential for manipulation, only who profits
#TikTok #China #Trump #USA #Deal #Politics #SocialMedia #DigitalSecurity #TechPolicy #PlatformPower #Business #OnlineManipulation #InformationSecurity
https://the-14.com/the-american-tiktok-deal-doesnt-address-the-platforms-potential-for-manipulation-only-who-profits/ -
The American TikTok deal doesn’t address the platform’s potential for manipulation, only who profits
#TikTok #China #Trump #USA #Deal #Politics #SocialMedia #DigitalSecurity #TechPolicy #PlatformPower #Business #OnlineManipulation #InformationSecurity
https://the-14.com/the-american-tiktok-deal-doesnt-address-the-platforms-potential-for-manipulation-only-who-profits/ -
The American TikTok deal doesn’t address the platform’s potential for manipulation, only who profits
#TikTok #China #Trump #USA #Deal #Politics #SocialMedia #DigitalSecurity #TechPolicy #PlatformPower #Business #OnlineManipulation #InformationSecurity
https://the-14.com/the-american-tiktok-deal-doesnt-address-the-platforms-potential-for-manipulation-only-who-profits/ -
Hostility to the techno-determinism as intellectual alibi for political and social harms
This aggressive interview with an incredibly defensive Nick Clegg was fascinating as an instance of contemporary tech politics. I was particularly struck by how he explicitly invokes ‘techno-determinism’ to dismiss claims about social platforms generating politics and social harms:
https://youtu.be/KAYM1arUzXY?si=RlrfpreRLVNwSFPh&t=1563
He argues it’s “patronising” to claim that platforms have a significant influence because “people have agency”. There’s an obvious straw man here, in which claims about platform power are construed as people being cognitively hijacked by whatever they find in their feeds*, gets used to dismiss any claim about platform power.
*I do think some people basically believe this. It’s a stupid and dangerous position which we need to oppose.
#facebook #NickClegg #platformPower #platformisation #socialPlatforms
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Hostility to the techno-determinism as intellectual alibi for political and social harms
This aggressive interview with an incredibly defensive Nick Clegg was fascinating as an instance of contemporary tech politics. I was particularly struck by how he explicitly invokes ‘techno-determinism’ to dismiss claims about social platforms generating politics and social harms:
https://youtu.be/KAYM1arUzXY?si=RlrfpreRLVNwSFPh&t=1563
He argues it’s “patronising” to claim that platforms have a significant influence because “people have agency”. There’s an obvious straw man here, in which claims about platform power are construed as people being cognitively hijacked by whatever they find in their feeds*, gets used to dismiss any claim about platform power. Likewise the claim that the technology you use has an “automatic effect” on what you think and believe.
*I do think some people basically believe this. It’s a stupid and dangerous position which we need to oppose.
#facebook #NickClegg #platformPower #platformisation #socialPlatforms
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Hostility to the techno-determinism as intellectual alibi for political and social harms
This aggressive interview with an incredibly defensive Nick Clegg was fascinating as an instance of contemporary tech politics. I was particularly struck by how he explicitly invokes ‘techno-determinism’ to dismiss claims about social platforms generating politics and social harms:
https://youtu.be/KAYM1arUzXY?si=RlrfpreRLVNwSFPh&t=1563
He argues it’s “patronising” to claim that platforms have a significant influence because “people have agency”. There’s an obvious straw man here, in which claims about platform power are construed as people being cognitively hijacked by whatever they find in their feeds*, gets used to dismiss any claim about platform power. Likewise the claim that the technology you use has an “automatic effect” on what you think and believe.
*I do think some people basically believe this. It’s a stupid and dangerous position which we need to oppose.
#facebook #NickClegg #platformPower #platformisation #socialPlatforms
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Hostility to the techno-determinism as intellectual alibi for political and social harms
This aggressive interview with an incredibly defensive Nick Clegg was fascinating as an instance of contemporary tech politics. I was particularly struck by how he explicitly invokes ‘techno-determinism’ to dismiss claims about social platforms generating politics and social harms:
https://youtu.be/KAYM1arUzXY?si=RlrfpreRLVNwSFPh&t=1563
He argues it’s “patronising” to claim that platforms have a significant influence because “people have agency”. There’s an obvious straw man here, in which claims about platform power are construed as people being cognitively hijacked by whatever they find in their feeds*, gets used to dismiss any claim about platform power. Likewise the claim that the technology you use has an “automatic effect” on what you think and believe.
*I do think some people basically believe this. It’s a stupid and dangerous position which we need to oppose.
#facebook #NickClegg #platformPower #platformisation #socialPlatforms
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This diagram, taken directly from the U.S. v. Google judgment, illustrates a fundamental dynamic of digital market power:
Data Aggregation → Market Dominance
This self-reinforcing loop is the core issue with Big Tech platforms: scale isn’t just an advantage — it becomes a moat. And without regulatory intervention, it shuts the door on competition.
#Google #Antitrust #PlatformPower #DataAggregation #BigTech #DigitalMonopoly #DataEconomy #NetworkEffects #Regulation
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This diagram, taken directly from the U.S. v. Google judgment, illustrates a fundamental dynamic of digital market power:
Data Aggregation → Market Dominance
This self-reinforcing loop is the core issue with Big Tech platforms: scale isn’t just an advantage — it becomes a moat. And without regulatory intervention, it shuts the door on competition.
#Google #Antitrust #PlatformPower #DataAggregation #BigTech #DigitalMonopoly #DataEconomy #NetworkEffects #Regulation
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This diagram, taken directly from the U.S. v. Google judgment, illustrates a fundamental dynamic of digital market power:
Data Aggregation → Market Dominance
This self-reinforcing loop is the core issue with Big Tech platforms: scale isn’t just an advantage — it becomes a moat. And without regulatory intervention, it shuts the door on competition.
#Google #Antitrust #PlatformPower #DataAggregation #BigTech #DigitalMonopoly #DataEconomy #NetworkEffects #Regulation
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This diagram, taken directly from the U.S. v. Google judgment, illustrates a fundamental dynamic of digital market power:
Data Aggregation → Market Dominance
This self-reinforcing loop is the core issue with Big Tech platforms: scale isn’t just an advantage — it becomes a moat. And without regulatory intervention, it shuts the door on competition.
#Google #Antitrust #PlatformPower #DataAggregation #BigTech #DigitalMonopoly #DataEconomy #NetworkEffects #Regulation
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Recommended talk from @martinandree about why #bigtech must go:
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Recommended talk from @martinandree about why #bigtech must go:
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Recommended talk from @martinandree about why #bigtech must go:
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Recommended talk from @martinandree about why #bigtech must go:
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Very important public statement by ~40 #HumanRights groups around the world including @edri and many of its members:
▌Why Infrastructure Providers Should Not Police Content▐
#ProtectTheStack #digitalrights #moderation #censorship #platformpower
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Very important public statement by ~40 #HumanRights groups around the world including @edri and many of its members:
▌Why Infrastructure Providers Should Not Police Content▐
#ProtectTheStack #digitalrights #moderation #censorship #platformpower
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Very important public statement by ~40 #HumanRights groups around the world including @edri and many of its members:
▌Why Infrastructure Providers Should Not Police Content▐
#ProtectTheStack #digitalrights #moderation #censorship #platformpower
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Very important public statement by ~40 #HumanRights groups around the world including @edri and many of its members:
▌Why Infrastructure Providers Should Not Police Content▐
#ProtectTheStack #digitalrights #moderation #censorship #platformpower
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#FreedomNotFear registration is OPEN!
Vivaldi CEO @jonsvt joins them to discuss #PlatformPower & how a few massive platforms shape our current experience online. 📅21November, ⌚3 pm CET
👉Join #FnF21, a community-driven, interactive & inspiring space https://vi.tc/3kLXNsa https://nitter.net/vivaldibrowser/status/1461718670309212168/photo/1
🐦🔗: https://nitter.net/vivaldibrowser/status/1461718670309212168
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#FreedomNotFear registration is OPEN!
Vivaldi CEO @jonsvt joins them to discuss #PlatformPower & how a few massive platforms shape our current experience online. 📅21November, ⌚3 pm CET
👉Join #FnF21, a community-driven, interactive & inspiring space https://vi.tc/3kLXNsa https://nitter.net/vivaldibrowser/status/1461718670309212168/photo/1
🐦🔗: https://nitter.net/vivaldibrowser/status/1461718670309212168