Governments and consumers expect internet platform companies to regulate their users to prevent fraud, stop misinformation, and avoid violence. Yet, so far, they've failed to do so. The inability of platforms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon to govern their users has led to stolen elections, refused vaccines, counterfeit N95s in a pandemic, and even genocide. Such failures stem from these companies' inability to manage the complexity of their userbases, products, and their own incentives under the eyes of internal and external constituencies. The Networked Leviathan argues that countries should adapt the institutional tools developed in political science to democratize the major platforms. Democratic institutions allow knowledgeable actors to freely share and apply their understanding of the problems they face while leaders more readily recruit third parties to help manage their decision-making capacity. This book is also available Open Access on Cambridge Core. For more information, visit https://networked-leviathan.com.

‘Platform governance is hard. With The Networked Leviathan, Gowder brings a fresh perspective on how companies can tackle difficult questions around content moderation in a way that engages more people around the world. It’s a must-read for anyone working in tech.’

Katie Harbath - Founder and CEO, Anchor Change

‘Let’s be honest; academic books tend to be dry, unnecessarily long, and hard to slog through. We’re lucky, but should not be surprised, that Paul Gowder’s book heartily bucks that norm. No one else can weave philosophical theories of governance and virtue, practical technical understanding of platforms, and political science into such a compelling package. Bravo!’

Sahar Massachi - Co-Founder and Executive Director, Integrity Institute