Workshop on Platform Governance

The 2nd Expert Group for the Online Platform Economy held an online workshop on September 21st, 2022, as a part of Workstream 4: Platform Governance. The workshop was opened by the representative of DG CNECT, Marcel Boulogne. This was followed by an introduction by Prof. Henri Isaac, the leader of the Observatory Expert Group Workstream on Platform Governance, who presented an overview of the progress achieved thus far. In this respect, the workstream is currently working on a preliminary framework for analysing different models of platform governance.

The first presentation was held by Ms Kelsie Nabben (RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia) and focused on the governance dynamics of decentralised autonomous organisations. Ms Nabben delved into the definition and cetegorisation of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs), as well as their objectives, origins and governance models. Future directions of research in the field were also explored.

Thereafter, Prof. Marshall Van Alstyne (Information Systems Department, Boston University Questrom School of Business) brought forward the idea of a platform “Magna Carta which will need to outline and, ultimately, safeguard the rights of platform ecosystem participants. This discussion was accompanied by reflections surrounding market failures, externalities and alternative types of governance.

Thirdly, Dr Robert Gorwa (WZB Berlin Social Science Centre) described different models of platform governance. Specifically, Dr Gorwa focused on the governance of user-generated content, models for platform governance intervention, and the peculiarities of human moderation.

Finally, Dr Nicolas Petit (Department of Law, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute) explored a programme for the implementation of gatekeeper regulation. The presentation centred around the issue of platform recontracting behaviours, suggestions about how such behaviours can be addressed through legal standards, and the ways in which such suggestions interact with the requirements already laid out in the P2B Regulation.

All in all, the discussions elaborated on prominent and emerging issues surrounding platform governance and related regulatory issues. As the work of the Expert Group for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy continues on the topic of platform regulation, the insights gathered during this workshop will serve as an important input for the study of the workstream that aims to analyse different platform governance models and provide insight into a regulatory toolbox that could be used to address various platform governance issues.

Workshop on Platform Governance