Governing Digital Media and Platforms in Authoritarian Regimes: The Paradox of Regulations, Power, and Interest

Platform regulations have attracted growing global attention, reflecting diverse approaches to government intervention in regulating digital platforms and online content. While there is notable resistance to regulating digital platforms in the US, in the guise of freedom of speech and the protection of digital platforms and giant companies under § 230, the EU has set a series of regulatory frameworks to hold platforms accountable for the content they host and to prioritize citizens’ rights by aiming to manage the online information ecosystem. Yet, there is a scarcity of research on platform governance approaches that address underrepresented communities in non-Western contexts. This paper aims to answer one primary research question: how do authoritarian governments establish, process, and implement platform regulations, and what structures and mechanisms institutionalize their practices? Drawing on a case study of platform regulation and digital media governance in Egypt, this paper explores approaches to platform regulations in non-Western countries. Drawing on process tracing methods and based on empirical qualitative interviews with officials, policy makers, politicians, elite members, and media practitioners, along with analysis of laws and regulations of digital platforms-with closer lens on disinformation regulations- which were only legalized the recent years, this paper discuss platform regulations in a non-Western context and their power dynamics, the role of actors, the hierarchy of regulations and influence, and approaches of regulations. The evidence-based process tracing methods in this paper contribute to the literature on platform governance and regulation in non-Western contexts, shedding light on multiple facets of authoritarian structures and practices in media policy and digital platform governance across regions worldwide and broadening the lens for comparative perspectives. This paper addresses the paradox of regulation, power, and interest, further elucidating how platform regulations and media policy are shaped in authoritarian contexts, their institutional design, and the implications of these policies and regulations.