Jørgen fra Europa (@slaeg.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy)

Miguel Afonso Caetano (@[email protected]) "Algorithms are usually seen as neutral instruments of commerce, but they function as the central infrastructure of monopsony in the digital platform economy. This consolidation of control is then obscured through a two-step legal and political displacement. First, algorithmic systems are defined as tools of trade and innovation rather than mechanisms of labor governance. Their regulation is routed through consumer protection and competition law, where the algorithm is framed as a facilitator of matching, pricing, or ranking. Within this framing, platforms appear as intermediaries rather than employers; the algorithm becomes a technical feature, not a managerial authority. This logic dominated recent negotiations at the International Labour Organization (ILO), where several governments — most notably the United States — resisted proposals to recognize algorithmic systems as instruments of workplace control. By insisting that algorithmic infrastructure belongs within the domain of commerce and innovation policy, they effectively placed it outside the reach of labor law and beyond the authority of institutions like the ILO. Second, the internal architecture of these systems is shielded above all by intellectual property law and reinforced by restrictive contracts and employment misclassification. Trade secrecy, copyright, and database rights protect not only the underlying code but the entire decision-making apparatus: how tasks are assigned, how pay is calculated, how thresholds are set, and how disciplinary actions are triggered. Treated as proprietary business assets, these systems are exempt from public or regulatory scrutiny. To give a few examples of the consequences: a regulator cannot compel disclosure of algorithmic thresholds; a union cannot negotiate over a system it is not legally permitted to inspect; and a worker cannot demand an explanation for a wage deduction or penalty." https://jacobin.com/2025/10/algorithms-labor-management-abuses-regulation/ #Algorithms #ClassWarfare #ContentModeration https://tldr.nettime.org/@remixtures/115309652205655678