traditional sources of administrative data, digital platforms are distinguished
by the fact that they are both wholly privately owned and highly concentrated.
Thus, society has a special claim on these data precisely because (1) they will not
otherwise be made available in the public domain (the way, for example, census
or election data will be) and (2) these companies provide not a single service
(like airline or automotive companies) but rather a collection of services that
inextricably link these platforms to society’s social, economic, and political life.
Taken together, these arguments suggest that, although such data are currently
considered a private good owned by the corporations, they ought to be
considered a public good.
Social_Media_and_Democracy