Many people consider platforms simply as technological tools that allow them to do various things online, ranging from doing social interaction, searching for information, dating, buying goods, listening to music, watching videos, booking transportation services to ordering food. This online activity turns out hiding a system whose logic and logistics go beyond simply facilitating online activity. Both actually shape the way we live and the way society is organized (Gehl, 2011). In a similar vein, Van Dijk et al. (2021) state that platforms are driven by data, automated and regulated through algorithms and interfaces, formalized through ownership relationships driven by business models, and regulated through user agreements. The technological and economic components of platforms guide user interactions while simultaneously shaping social norms. Through its interface, algorithms, and protocols, a platform regulates user interactions, encouraging some connections and inhibiting others. Furthermore, there is a keen awareness that information and communications technology infrastructure controlled by tech giants has driven the convergence of artificial intelligence and deep learning. Drawing from such a perspective, this session will discuss the elements that build the anatomy of a platform.

Social media platforms are increasingly taking responsibility for regulating content and monitoring the activities of their users. There are several purposes for such practices. Platform governing aims at meeting legal requirements, or or avoiding the implementation of additional policies. These efforts are also made to avoid losing users who are offended or harassed (Gillespie, 2018, p. 255). In addition, platform governing is implemented to appease advertisers who want to associate their brands with healthy online communities, to protect their company image and to respect their personal and institutional ethics (Gillespie, 2018, p. 255). Some users welcome such intervention, yet quite a few consider it controversial. Additionally, several countries have begun implementing platform governance. They have been enacting several policies to govern platforms’ responsibilities for the content and user activity they host. In the United States, platform governance is seen as an attempt to limit freedom of expression. However, similar platforms face wider restrictions internationally. The regulatory frameworks that apply to platforms, and the way in which major platforms implement those obligations and enforce their obligations to their users, are set as parameters for how public speech in cyberspace is and will be regulated in private. Considering these issues, this session will discuss the regulations of and by platforms.

Platformized work is increasingly dominating the landscape across various industries such as transportation, caregiving, gig work, and food delivery. This shift typically involves moving from traditional “word-of-mouth” recruitment methods to platform-based mediation and accreditation. These platforms claim to offer more transparent worker evaluations based on user ratings and reviews. However, several studies indicate that platform workers often experience unstable working conditions and dependency without social safety nets. Classified as independent contractors, such workers lose the rights and protections of permanent employees, face stringent algorithmic control, and encounter high job insecurity and relentless work pressure. Furthermore, platforms can amplify existing discrimination and bias, with user ratings potentially reinforcing gender and racial biases. While ride-hailing platforms in developing countries have transformed labor markets, they also result in deskilling and disempowerment of traditional workers. A major issue for platform workers is the lack of social protection, leaving them vulnerable during unexpected occurrences. Despite the potential for flexibility and market access, the challenges faced by independent contractors require comprehensive regulatory approaches to ensure worker security and well-being. By joining this session, participants will be equipped with a framework to analyze cases related to labor in platformized work.

This course explores the transformative impact of digital platforms on the healthcare sector, highlighting how they integrate advanced technologies and a broad array of services to revolutionize traditional healthcare models. Participants will examine the evolution of health platforms, ranging from personal fitness apps to comprehensive medical platforms, and analyze how these platforms create a highly connected, collaborative network involving various stakeholders, including hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic labs, patients, doctors, and more (Depeyrot-Ficatier, 2023). The course will cover the ecosystem approach of these platforms, emphasizing their role in enhancing healthcare delivery through multiple channels such as emergency healthcare centers, telemedicine, and health communities (Viswanadham, 2021). A significant focus will be on the development and implementation of health information management platforms within medical institutions and their positive impact on service levels and information management (Sun, 2020). The data-driven nature of these platforms and their contributions to medical research through large dataset utilization will also be explored (van, 2018). However, the course will also address the critical risks and challenges associated with healthcare platforms. These include concerns about the accuracy and reliability of health information provided, the potential for misleading or harmful advice, and the need for stringent regulation and oversight to protect users from misinformation (Bo-jian, 2008). Additionally, the course will discuss the limitations of current healthcare platforms in addressing the social and psychological needs of patients, which are vital for holistic healthcare (Dhillon, 2010)

Platformization in journalism is a phenomenon where large digital platforms, such as technology companies and social media, become the main medium for news distribution and consumption. This shift opens up vast opportunities for journalists and news outlets to reach a larger and more diverse audience. However, platformization also brings significant challenges, such as decreased control over content distribution and a higher risk of disinformation or fake news due to algorithms that favor viral content. It also poses economic problems for news outlets, as most of the advertising revenue now goes to these platforms instead of the news publishers themselves. Some aspects that need further discussion include: how news outlets can maintain editorial control and financial sustainability in the era of platformization; the influence of platform algorithms on the quality and diversity of news received by the public; and effective strategies to counter the spread of disinformation in an ecosystem dominated by large platforms. Governments in several countries, such as Australia and Canada, have implemented Publisher Rights regulations to govern the relationship between digital platforms and news publishers in an attempt to address these issues. However, this approach remains nascent and has not yet fully resolved the problems.
This discussion is important to identify strategies that can strengthen the integrity of journalism and information production, ensuring that the industry can survive and thrive in the digital era.

This session addresses how the nature of personal relationships is altered by the platformization of social interactions. The main topics include the patterns, experiences, and attitudes around the use of digital platforms in interpersonal interactions. People are increasingly turning to digital apps to establish, maintain, and end relationships. Dating apps, one of the most widely used digital platforms, are spheres where power relations are not just played out but also where people may explore potential love relationships. This topic examines the possibilities for women’s empowerment within dating apps, the representation and reinforcement of conventional masculine ideology, and the distinctive experiences faced by individuals who identify as members of underrepresented sexual orientations. People also use various apps to interact with their significant others and even to resolve relationship problems. Interpersonal Electronic Surveillance (IES), for example, may replace direct conversation as the go-to technique for monitoring and settling interpersonal conflicts. There are also applications known as Personal Relationship Managers (PRM) that provide tools like to-do lists, reminders, and support to help users maintain relationships. The usage of PRM apps raises the question of what constitutes personal elements embedded in interpersonal relationships. The notion of emotional connection and personal feeling is changing and growing in significance as a topic of discussion as a result of maintaining relationships through digital platforms. The inquiry also centers on whether the logic of platformization for maintaining personal or romantic connections fosters more dynamic, dialectic interpersonal power relations or perpetuates the stereotypically male idea of surveillance in society. Additionally, relationships often end online, with individuals utilizing applications to ease the process of ending a relationship and deleting any digital records of it.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the pervasive presence and multifaceted impact of gambling apps, focusing on their profound economic and cultural significance within contemporary youth culture. Positioned at the intersection of gambling, mobile gaming, and social media, these apps seamlessly blend the inherent risks of gambling with the accessibility and appeal of mobile gaming platforms. Participants will investigate how these gambling platforms blur the lines between leisure, crime, and risk by integrating game progression with economic and social stakes, thereby creating a continuous cycle of engagement that embeds uncertainty and chance into users’ daily routines. The course will elaborate on how this casualization of risk mirrors broader shifts in cultural attitudes, where crime, risk, and unpredictability are increasingly embraced as part of the entertainment experience. Through this lens, participants will understand how gambling apps shape an emerging cultural commodity that both reflects and influences contemporary perceptions of crime, risk, and leisure in the era of platformization.