Affiliation:
1. Department of Sociology and Political Science NTNU Trondheim Norway
Abstract
AbstractThe introduction of EU's Digital Market Directive, especially the so‐called Article 13, caused a lot of controversy. A varied assembly of actors protested, including Internet activists, academics, NGO's such as Wikipedia, and owners of platforms for user generated content. They feared regulations would stifle the distribution of user generated content. Much of the protests revolved around the hashtag #saveyourinternet. In this article, we study the active role YouTube took in mobilizing protests to regulatory changes. Drawing on Platform Studies and Actor‐Network Theory, we aim at eliciting Big Tech's overt and covert strategies when they face new legal regulations effecting the rules of the market in which they operate. We problematize how YouTube enacts sources of power in the network society. Indeed, the most important driver of the #saveyourinternet campaign owned the network in which it spread. The article is a contribution to the on‐going discussion of Big Tech's influence on democratic decision‐making.