Platforms, Data and Trust: Understanding Institutional Power in the Digital Society

Abstract

Digital platforms have become institutional infrastructures for communication, commerce, work, culture, search, advertising, and social participation. Their significance extends beyond individual applications because platforms organize visibility, collect and monetize data, set rules for participation, mediate transactions, and influence how other institutions reach users. This editorial argues that platforms should therefore be analysed as institutions with technical, economic, and governance functions rather than as neutral intermediaries. Algorithmic curation, moderation, advertising systems, data extraction, app ecosystems, and platform labour create informational asymmetries between firms, users, workers, regulators, and researchers. These asymmetries complicate accountability and public trust, while concentration and interoperability choices can reshape market and social power. Research should prioritize independent data access, platform transparency, algorithmic accountability, comparative and longitudinal analysis, data governance, user agency, trustworthy moderation, worker outcomes, and evidence from diverse geographic settings. Understanding platform effects requires connecting algorithms and interface design with business models, regulation, user behaviour, social norms, and institutional dependence.