The algorithmic empire: Alphabet Inc. and the infrastructural hegemony of platform capitalism

Abstract

The research investigates how digital colonialism operates through the technological authority that platform capitalism provides. It analyzes how power operates through digital systems, moving away from media imperialism models that focused on ownership and content control. Using Alphabet Inc. as a case study, the research examines how integrated platform ecosystems create and capture data-driven value through a critical political economy framework. It investigates how Google, YouTube, and Android work together to transform user data into commercial products that feed algorithmic control systems. The study asserts that platform capitalism functions as an advanced form of digital colonialism, using infrastructural systems to maintain control over access, visibility, and user engagement. The framework shows how Global South countries generate data that Global North corporations force into their centralized systems, creating ongoing extractive relationships. The platform operates as "infrastructural hegemony" in that it establishes itself as a financial intermediary while controlling users' political agency and knowledge production. It introduces the concept of the "algorithmic empire" to describe power embedded in code, data flows, and platform architectures. The research connects digital colonialism with platform capitalism to create a theoretical framework that presents digital infrastructures as imperial outposts while showing how global inequalities continue to expand.