IGP and Beijing Normal University are cooperating on a joint research/conference effort to compare and contrast the American and Chinese approach to platform governance. Platform governance refers to the rules, practices, and design decisions used to influence the way multi-sided markets or information intermediaries manage users, data and content, and their relationship to government.

The virtual conference is planned for late June, with submission of abstracts due April 15. The event will be bilingual with simultaneous translation of presentations and discussions.  Interested scholars and industry analysts can download our detailed Call for Papers in both English and Chinese versions.

This conference is intended to allow Western and Chinese scholars and industry and government experts to conduct a dispassionate and objective comparative analysis of each other’s platform governance regimes, and place them in the context of the broader system of political economy in each country. It will also allow us to gain a better understanding of US-China transnational interactions in the digital economy. Currently, there is very little empirical comparative analysis of US and Chinese platform governance. While it is common to assume that the two models are incompatible if not hostile, research may find as many similarities as differences. When there are notable differences, it is important to understand what has created these differences and to assess the degree to which they really do lead to incompatibility or conflict.

Interested participants can submit their initial proposals to us via the email address us-china-conference@internetgovernance.org by April 15.