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Datafied mobile markets

Measuring control over apps, data accesses, and third-party services

Bibliographic Data

ID13011937
AuthorsSofie Flensburg (0000-0002-3022-5708, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author), Signe Sophus Lai (0000-0002-7903-7994, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume10
Issue1
Pages136-155
Publication date2021-11-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMobile Media & Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2050-1579 • E-ISSN: 2050-1587
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/20501579211039066
OpenAlexW3208874090
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited27

The increasing use of mobile applications (apps) has turned data harvesting, mining, and distribution into commercial as well as functional backbones of mobile communication. Acknowledging that contemporary markets for mobile communication are increasingly datafied, this article maps and discusses how infrastructures for mobile datafication are controlled. It combines perspectives from critical data studies, political economy of communication, and app studies in an empirical analysis of the 500 most downloaded apps in the Google Play store (November 2020). Focusing on control over and ownership in the three interdependent markets for apps, data accesses, and third-party services, the analysis documents, confirms, and explains established power structures and sheds light on the mobile datafication processes that frame the use of apps and commodification of users. As such, it provides an empirical baseline for future monitoring, and ultimately regulation, of mobile app ecosystems

Commodification · Control (management · Economics · Economy · Interdependence · Internet privacy · Mobile apps · Mobile device · Mobile radio · Mobile telephony · Political science · Telecommunications · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Platforms and Economics · Green IT and Sustainability · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection

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Unique citing works7
Citations per year1,75
Citation span2022 - 2025 (4)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 7
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