The intersection between traditional welfare state structures and the evolving landscape of digital communication systems is the overarching theme of a new book published by Nordicom entitled Gateways: Comparing Digital Communication Systems in Nordic Welfare States. The book takes the reader through an investigation of how digital communication systems in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden are shaped, organised, and controlled.
“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”, says Sofie Flensburg, one of the authors of the book.
“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”, continues Signe Sophus Lai, the second author of the book.
Clash between traditional systems and tech giants
The book brings attention to the clash between Nordic welfare states and the powerful influence of tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. It reveals these corporations’ control over crucial infrastructures across the digital value chain – from fibre optic submarine cables to operating systems, third-party tools for collecting and monitoring data, and beyond.
“Outlining key gatekeeper positions for digital communication flows, the book shows how the tech giants go beyond their known services and the platforms they control, challenging existing political logics and altering the efficacy of established forms of regulation”, says Flensburg.
The findings stress the urgency to push back on the power of these new gatekeepers. In doing so, the book suggests that researchers and regulators alike need to engage in the development of new theories, methods, and empirical sources for studying and monitoring contemporary digital power.
Nordic differences
Flensburg and Lai conclude that the four Nordic countries – so often described as a homogeneous whole – have followed quite different institutional and infrastructural paths on their way to digitalisation, resulting in different degrees of disruption, globalisation, and state involvement.
Authors: Signe Sophus Lai and Sofie Flensburg.
Mia Jonsson Lindell