Done is better than perfect: evidence, governance, power and platform regulation

The widespread emergence of regulatory proposals for platform companies internationally is a significant shift from the ‘internet governance’ model. Recent years have seen a strengthening of state discursive and analytical capacities in various jurisdictions as legislators, regulators and governments seek to move beyond the assembling of evidence on market activity - the evidence always contested and subject to control by platforms themselves - to engage with fundamental questions of the power of platforms and the ways in which their business models affect democratic norms. The move towards regulation, covering a range of fields and with a number of policy drivers, is unlikely to be tidy, consistent or based on utility-style legislation. Instead, platforms will be subject to a series of concurrent regulatory interventions from national governments and multinational institutions such as the European Union. Regulation is a contested process with arguments over evidence, including its relevance and scope, at its heart.