Data Politics
Data politics refers to the ways in which data collection, classification, storage, and analysis shape social realities, power relations, and political agency. It encompasses the contestation over who controls data, how it is used, and what values are embedded within data infrastructure systems.
Key Dimensions
- Power and Control: Data is not neutral; its governance reflects and reinforces existing hierarchies. See surveillance capitalism and algorithmic bias.
- Infrastructure as Policy: The technical design of digital platforms dictates political outcomes by determining visibility, accessibility, and interoperability.
- Public vs. Private Interest: Tensions exist between corporate data extraction and public data rights.
Emerging Models of Data Governance
Recent scholarship identifies shifting paradigms in how data is governed within the platform society.
- Micheli et al. Analysis:
- Examines four emerging models of data governance in the context of datafication.
- Highlights the dominance of corporate platforms in shaping data policy.
- Discusses the interplay between data infrastructure and political agency.
- Source: Micheli - Emerging models of data governance (2017/2020).
Related Concepts
- data-management
- big-data
- Digital Platforms
- Data Infrastructure
- Surveillance Capitalism