It is a truism that the power of platform companies rests, among other things, on their capacity to engage in surveillance. Their existence depends on the acquisition and analysis of data, which fuels their movement, that is steered by algorithms. Surveillance capitalism, usually instantiated in the activities of platform companies, expanded even more markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Platforms have ambiguous relations with already existing corporations and government agencies, often leading to tension and conflict. Also, surveillance enabled by the massive datasets used by platforms does not have uniform outcomes. Its operations sort populations into categories, enabling differential treatment, which may be experienced negatively by some vulnerable groups. This includes groups experiencing precarity, and in particular places. An emergent kind of power is visible in surveillance-dependent platform companies, raising critical questions of political resistance and legal regulation.

中文翻译：

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监控和平台的力量

众所周知，平台公司的力量除其他外还取决于其参与监控的能力。它们的存在取决于数据的获取和分析，这推动了它们的运动，并由算法引导。监控资本主义通常体现在平台公司的活动中，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，其扩张更为显着。平台与现有企业和政府机构的关系不明确，常常导致紧张和冲突。此外，平台使用的海量数据集实现的监视并没有产生统一的结果。其业务将人口分类，从而实现差别待遇，而这可能会给一些弱势群体带来负面影响。这包括经历不稳定的群体，特别是在特定的地方。