Human rights are one of the major innovations of the 20th century. Their emergence after World War II and global uptake promised a new world of universalized humanity in which human dignity would be protected, and individuals would have agency and flourish. The proliferation of digital data (i.e.

Krisen bringen Veränderung. Die Covid-19-Pandemie hat Sicherheiten in Frage gestellt, Spannungen sichtbar gemacht und die Frage nach gesellschaftlichem Wandel aufgeworfen. Inzwischen ist vieles wieder „beim Alten“ – doch was heißt das in Zeiten von Klimakrise und Krieg überhaupt? Wie arbeiten wir und wie lassen sich Arbeit und Leben besser vereinbaren, welche Folgen hat der technische Wandel, welche Rolle kommt dem Staat zu und wohin soll es gehen in Anbetracht sich zuspitzender Krisen?

The Platform Governance Research Network brings together researchers interested in ‘platform governance’, broadly defined. From online labor markets and locally-tethered service delivery platforms, to social networks and cloud providers, our conference highlights cutting-edge conceptual and empirical work that engages with the politics and policy of the 21st century ‘platformized’ internet.

This talk looks at platform governance and platform power through the lens of deplatforming sex, and deplatforming of sex through the lens of concentration of norm and infrastructure power. Based on a meta-analysis of ethnographic, interview and social media data associated with cases of deplatforming and replatforming sex on social media, the talk offers suggestions for reimagining platform governance and articulates a hope for a more sex-positive platform governance research agenda.

Context

With each passing day, it seems as if more public, academic, and policy attention is being paid to platform governance — the growing space of political interaction between platform companies (and their infrastructures, services, and rules) and the many other political stakeholders trying to shape how those infrastructures, services, and rules function.

This talk describes and explains the Chinese techno-state’s seemingly sudden turn against the internet sector that it once cultivated and held dear. I argue that a combination of domestic and international factors led to this regulatory shift and crackdown. Domestically, China’s financial regulators detected the crossing of two red lines—systematic financial risks and national security. Internationally, the geopolitical tensions between China and the US have further amplified national security issues.

This talk compares arguments for interventions in the digital platform market that envisage that a better ‘balancing’ of public and commercial values can be achieved with arguments for a deeper contestation with the underlying logics of data driven markets which might result in shifting the digital innovation trajectory. It suggests the need for a radical reframing of initiatives to govern digital technology innovation drawing on contemporary initiatives aimed at reducing the harms associated with commercial datafication.

Was leistet die Mitbestimmung: Was sagt die Wissenschaft?
2. Biennale-Konferenz

Advocates of the platform economy present it as a new way of organizing work and value creation and as a fundamental and efficient alternative to the “old economy”. Traditional workplaces and employment are replaced by platforms organizing crowds of formally independent freelancers. There are huge platforms like Upwork which organize markets for freelancers in a large number of sectors. There are dedicated platforms which focus on specific markets. Companies like Uber or Deliveroo, for instance, offer mobility and transport services and compete with traditional transport providers.

Donald Trump's surprise victory over the Republican and Democratic political establishments in 2016 was the result of several factors, including structural trends in economic dislocations and electoral politics, along with deeply rooted ideological and cultural currents. This presentation will explore the degree to which Trump's electoral and governmental projects are a consolidation of right-wing politics and its appeals to white nationalism, xenophobia, and racial resentment, especially, but not exclusively, among certain sectors of white working class voters.

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Part-time employment has been increasing in many developed countries. In Germany as well as in Japan, the number of part-time employment has reached one fourth of all the employment, and almost half of the female employments, which means it became a substantial employment form in the society in both countries.

Digitization has become a catch word to describe the ongoing transformation within different areas of life through the deployment of new information and communication technologies. In the realm of labor, one development has been the reorganization of work through intermediary platforms and their digital communities, the so-called crowd work. Work – from microtasks to creative challenges – is outsourced to a crowd of individuals that is globally dispersed and internet-based.

The 34th International Labour Process Conference

From 4th to 6th April, the WZB is hosting the International Labour Process Conference. The annual conference is a major meeting point for the international research community interested in the developments and transformations of the worlds of work.

Innerhalb des aktuellen Diskurses um die Digitalisierung der Arbeit erscheint das Thema Industrie 4.0 als besonders technik- und ingenieurlastig und als eigenständig deutsche Erfindung. Der Vortrag wirft einen kritischen Blick auf diese vorherrschende Sichtweise, er gibt einen diskursanalytischen Einblick in die Ursprünge, Intentionen und Akteure sowie den Verlauf der Debatte.

Increasing labor unrest has provoked efforts to reform collective bargaining in China. This year the All-China Trade Union Federation (ACTFU) is launching a new campaign to set up trade union branches and to implement what is known as “collective consultation”, a less adversarial form of collective bargaining. Prof. Anita Chan discusses the reform efforts of the ACFTU and argues that fundamental preconditions for collective bargaining are still missing in China and that the ACFTU is still far from becoming an interest representation of the employees.

Veranstalter: Ulrich Jürgens, Antje Blöcker (WZB), Bernard Julien (Université Montesquieu Bordeaux), Tommaso Pardi (Ecoles des Hautes Etudes er Sciences Sociales, Paris)