Internet, dati e social: il contesto tecnologico e sociale della comunicazione

The term "platformization" has been extensively theorized in international research. Initially defined as the transformation and colonization of the web by the pentagonal oligopoly known as GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) of U.S. origin, and the Chinese BATX (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi) through interconnected APIs, subsequent studies have broadened the conceptual scope of this definition to encompass a pervasive rectification and datification power capable of extending well beyond the presumed "limits" of the online reality. This multidimensional process indeed pertains to a global data-driven political economy where platform operators interfere to the extent of converging with the architecture of social institutions. Political choices, technical design decisions, and business models effectively function as a form of privatized governance that directly promulgates rights and regulates the flow of online information, thereby promoting or limiting civil liberties. By integrating an "infrastructural perspective," this chapter focuses on the political role played by these hybrid actors situated between the public sphere and governmental institutions. Such a perspective presupposes a methodological approach akin to a 'systemic' framework, which requires the analysis of the platform ecosystem as a new hermeneutic horizon to adequately address the legal challenges posed by the disruptive impact of platform algorithmic governance in the digital ecosystem.