IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v49y2025i3s0308596125000126.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic, political, and social factors impeding the regulation of digital platforms

Author

Listed:
  • Garcia-Murillo, Martha
  • MacInnes, Ian

Abstract

This paper analyzes the economic forces that led to the creation of the dominant digital platforms, including Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple (GAMMA). There are many challenges in regulating big tech, considering the economic, political, and social factors involved. In the economic sphere, the reinforcing effects of networks and big data give GAMMA an advantage over new entrants and smaller players. They generate insights about consumers and innovate more easily due to collecting and analyzing vast amounts of information. They have a great advantage due to their size and have been sued for abuse of their power. In terms of politics, speech online has polarized US society, but it is difficult to regulate despite the harassment, bullying, and vigilantism that is fostered and the children that it has harmed. Numerous factors hinder regulation, so alternative methods will be necessary to minimize their negative impacts on society. These can include education and professional associations to establish standards. Non-government stakeholders will need to develop information, tools, and guidelines that can limit the harm done by these dominant platforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Garcia-Murillo, Martha & MacInnes, Ian, 2025. "Economic, political, and social factors impeding the regulation of digital platforms," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:49:y:2025:i:3:s0308596125000126
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2025.102915
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596125000126
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2025.102915?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    2. Luca Braghieri & Ro'ee Levy & Alexey Makarin, 2022. "Social Media and Mental Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(11), pages 3660-3693, November.
    3. Gregory J. Martin & Ali Yurukoglu, 2017. "Bias in Cable News: Persuasion and Polarization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(9), pages 2565-2599, September.
    4. Murat Somer & Jennifer McCoy, 2019. "Transformations through Polarizations and Global Threats to Democracy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 681(1), pages 8-22, January.
    5. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2003. "Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(4), pages 990-1029, June.
    6. Tisha L. N. Emerson & Gail M. Hoyt, 2024. "Teaching-Track Faculty at US National Universities," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 114, pages 314-317, May.
    7. Richard A. Posner, 1974. "Theories of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 5(2), pages 335-358, Autumn.
    8. Peltzman, Sam, 1976. "Toward a More General Theory of Regulation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(2), pages 211-240, August.
    9. Paul Cook & Colin Kirkpatrick & Martin Minogue & David Parker, 2004. "Competition, regulation and regulatory governance: an overview," Chapters, in: Paul Cook & Colin Kirkpatrick & Martin Minogue & David Parker (ed.), Leading Issues in Competition, Regulation and Development, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Gawer, Annabelle, 2014. "Bridging differing perspectives on technological platforms: Toward an integrative framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1239-1249.
    11. Christopher D. Johnston & Gabriel J. Madson, 2022. "Negativity bias, personality and political ideology," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(5), pages 666-676, May.
    12. Feng Zhu & Qihong Liu, 2018. "Competing with complementors: An empirical look at Amazon.com," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(10), pages 2618-2642, October.
    13. John V. Duca & Jason L. Saving, 2017. "Income Inequality, Media Fragmentation, And Increased Political Polarization," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 392-413, April.
    14. James N. Druckman & Samara Klar & Yanna Krupnikov & Matthew Levendusky & John Barry Ryan, 2021. "Affective polarization, local contexts and public opinion in America," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 28-38, January.
    15. Susan Ariel Aaronson, 2017. "What Are We Talking About When We Discuss Digital Protectionism?," Working Papers 2017-9, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    16. ., 2024. "Introduction to Teaching International Law," Chapters, in: Teaching International Law, chapter 1, pages 1-23, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Daniel Trottier, 2020. "Denunciation and doxing: towards a conceptual model of digital vigilantism," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3-4), pages 196-212, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simshauser, Paul & Akimov, Alexandr, 2019. "Regulated electricity networks, investment mistakes in retrospect and stranded assets under uncertainty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 117-133.
    2. Alejandro Castaneda, 2020. "Cronies, Rents, and Import Licenses: Non-tariff Trade Controls throughout Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) in Mexico," Tiempo y Economía, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, vol. 7(2), pages 90-118.
    3. Inoue, Yuki, 2021. "Indirect innovation management by platform ecosystem governance and positioning: Toward collective ambidexterity in the ecosystems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    4. Connelly, J. Thomas & Limpaphayom, Piman & Nguyen, Hien T. & Tran, Thanh D., 2017. "A tale of two cities: Economic development, corporate governance and firm value in Vietnam," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 102-123.
    5. Andreas Hein & Maximilian Schreieck & Tobias Riasanow & David Soto Setzke & Manuel Wiesche & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2020. "Digital platform ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(1), pages 87-98, March.
    6. Petar Stankov, 2017. "Economic Freedom and Welfare Before and After the Crisis," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-62497-6, April.
    7. Liu, He & Li, Xuerong & Wang, Shouyang, 2021. "A bibliometric analysis of 30 years of platform research: Developing the research agenda for platforms, the associated technologies and social impacts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Satish Nambisan & Shaker A. Zahra & Yadong Luo, 2019. "Global platforms and ecosystems: Implications for international business theories," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1464-1486, December.
    9. Rotoli, Francesco & Valeri, Eva & Ricci, Stefano & Rizzetto, Luca & Malavasi, Gabriele, 2018. "An analysis of the railway access charges regime in the Italian context," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 20-28.
    10. Steffen, Nico & Wiewiorra, Lukas & Kroon, Peter, 2021. "Wettbewerb und Regulierung in der Plattform- und Datenökonomie," WIK Discussion Papers 481, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH.
    11. Dennis W. Carlton & Randal C. Picker, 2014. "Antitrust and Regulation," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Regulation and Its Reform: What Have We Learned?, pages 25-61, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Fernandes, Diana Vieira & Silva, Carlos Santos, 2022. "Open Energy Data — A regulatory framework proposal under the Portuguese electric system context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Bel, Germà, 2020. "Public versus private water delivery, remunicipalization and water tariffs," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Estache, Antonio & Wren-Lewis, Liam, 2010. "What Anti-Corruption Policy Can Learn from Theories of Sector Regulation," CEPR Discussion Papers 8082, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Maximilian Julius Krome & Ulrich Pidun, 2023. "Conceptualization of research themes and directions in business ecosystem strategies: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 873-920, June.
    16. Christensen, Hans B. & Liu, Lisa Yao & Maffett, Mark, 2020. "Proactive financial reporting enforcement and shareholder wealth," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2).
    17. Jacobides, Michael G. & Cennamo, Carmelo & Gawer, Annabelle, 2024. "Externalities and complementarities in platforms and ecosystems: From structural solutions to endogenous failures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    18. Jensen, Olivia & Wu, Xun, 2017. "The hybrid model for economic regulation of water utilities: Mission impossible?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 122-131.
    19. Cenamor, Javier, 2021. "Complementor competitive advantage: A framework for strategic decisions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 335-343.
    20. Shi, Xianwei & Liang, Xingkun & Luo, Yining, 2023. "Unpacking the intellectual structure of ecosystem research in innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:49:y:2025:i:3:s0308596125000126. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.