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 the regulation of 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 context. 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 proposes a conceptual framework on platform regulations in a non-Western context and explains 1) power mechanisms, the role of actors, the hierarchy of regulations and influence, and approaches of regulations. The evidence-based process tracing methods in this paper provide a theoretical framework that contributes to the literature on platform governance and regulation in non-Western contexts, shedding light on multiple facets of authoritarian structures and practices in digital platform governance across regions worldwide and broadening the lens for comparative perspectives. This paper proposes a conceptual framework of the paradox of regulation, power, and interest that further elucidates how platform regulations are shaped in authoritarian contexts, their institutional design, and the implications of these regulations.