Nordicom’s latest publication, authored by Signe Sophus Lai and Sofie Flensburg, sheds light on the clash between traditional Nordic welfare models and the pervasive influence of global tech titans.
Entitled Gateways: Comparing Digital Communication Systems in Nordic Welfare States, the book traces the significant shift from national control to global tech dominance in digital infrastructure in the Nordic countries.
– In our globalised media environment, Big Tech corporations are deeply infiltrated in the digital societies of the Nordic region, where they now control key components of the digital infrastructure, Sofie Flensburg emphasises.
– We have observed a gradual shift from national, legacy institutions with strong ties to the welfare state controlling the underlying communication resources in the analogue age, to new global and commercial actors taking over as key gatekeepers of the increasingly digitalised communication environments, Signe Sophus Lai adds.
Urgent Need to Push Back
In the spotlight of Flensburg and Lai’s examination lies the clash between Nordic welfare states and tech giants, such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon.
The book exposes the extent of these corporations’ dominion over critical infrastructures, spanning the entire digital value chain – from the optic-fibre submarine cables to the operating systems. Their influence also extends to third-party tools, designed for data collection and monitoring.
These revelations underscore the urgent need to resist the influence of global actors, the authors argue. Flensburg and Lai assert that researchers and regulators should actively contribute to the development of new theories, methodologies, and empirical sources to study and monitor the contemporary digital power.
You can access and read the book here.
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