Publication of the Series "Monsterizing Platform Power and Law" (4 Volumes)

On January 20, 2025, at the inauguration of Donald Trump, CEOs of digital platform companies (hereinafter "DPFs") such as Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Pichai gathered together to watch the ceremony from "special seats" close to the Trump family. Much of the media reported this unusual sight as the moment when the heads of DPFs, who had once resisted, knelt before a head of state named Trump. But was that really the case?

Shopping on Amazon, interacting with friends and acquaintances on Facebook and Instagram (Meta), consuming "news" on X and YouTube (Google)... DPFs have now become the infrastructure of socio-economic life. However, what is more important is that they are not neutral infrastructures; rather, they actively design our socio-economic lives by influencing individual decision-making through algorithms and AI that incorporate their "ideologies." In recent years, the business model of social media—the attention economy, which trades our "interest" (indicated by views and "likes") as an exchange commodity—has covered the entire information space. As a result, disinformation and slander that stimulate "interest" rather than truth are spreading and amplifying, exerting a significant impact on the nature of elections. It seems that DPFs are beginning to design our freedom, democracy, and even the very shape of this nation.

Here, I would like to recall Trump's inauguration once again. When doing so, a different picture emerges, like a Rubin's vase. The DPF heads, who appeared to have succumbed to Trump, can conversely be seen as steering Trump from their "special seats." This is reminiscent of the "Coronation of Charlemagne," where the sight of Pope Leo III placing the Roman imperial crown on King Charles of the Franks in St. Peter's Basilica in 800 AD can also be viewed as the King's side having made it happen.

Of course, even after this coronation, just as the relationship between the Emperor (secular power) and the Pope (ecclesiastical power) remained unstable in medieval Europe, it is not easy to foresee how the two "powers" of the state and DPFs will intertwine in the future. Will the state, which monopolizes physical violence, ultimately triumph? Or will the DPFs, which can invade the "hearts" of users through algorithms and AI, emerge victorious? Or perhaps a super-power will be born, combining the "King who governs the body" and the "King who governs the heart"? Given that Trump and Elon Musk, who were once so close, have reportedly become bitter enemies (as of June 1, 2025), it is dangerous to provide a definitive answer regarding the future of these two powers at this time.

However, what can be said for certain is that the relationship between the two monsters—the state and DPFs (or three monsters if we include the "humans" exposing their hideous natures in cyberspace, as Keigo Komamura suggests)—will be an unavoidable point of contention when considering our economy, freedom, democracy, and sovereignty. This series, titled "Monsterizing Platform Power and Law," was compiled with this awareness. The structure is as follows (2,970 yen each [tax included]).

Volume I: Platforms and the State. Examines the legal systems of various countries such as the EU, China, and the US to explore the ideal relationship between the state and platforms. Edited by Tatsuhiko Yamamoto (Lead Editor) / Pauline Türk and Haruna Kawashima. Keio University Press, 288 pages.

Volume II: Platforms and Power. Examines the power structure of platforms and the legal methods to control them. Edited by Sotaro Ishizuka. Keio University Press, 312 pages.

Volume III: Platforms and Democracy. Confronts the monster-like aspects of the people and seeks a new vision of democracy based on technology. Edited by Keigo Komamura. Keio University Press, 368 pages.

Volume IV: Platforms and Social Infrastructure. Prospects the nature of collaboration with DPFs, which play a part in social infrastructures such as labor, education, and healthcare. Edited by Satoshi Isobe (Lead Editor) / Haruna Kawashima, Yojiro Shibata, Goro Horiguchi, and Sho Mizubayashi. Keio University Press, 328 pages.

The fact that the editors are primarily constitutional law researchers is simply because they are the "canaries in the coal mine" sensitive to the excesses of power; the awareness of this series will likely resonate widely with readers interested in the social and political impacts of advanced technologies, including generative AI.

When Yukichi Fukuzawa once preached the "independence of a nation," that independence meant independence from other great powers. Today, however, the state's "independence from DPFs" is also a point of discussion. Furthermore, DPFs pose a threat to the "independence of the individual." If individuals are constantly connected to the information network systems configured by DPFs and are under their mental influence, then the "independence of the individual from DPFs" becomes an issue. In this way, if how to face the power of the monster known as DPF is a discourse on human spiritual richness—that is, a theory of civilization itself—then it seems no coincidence that full-scale research into DPF power has begun at Keio University, which was opened by Fukuzawa, who pursued the theory of civilization.