Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media

Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media

Presenting a Framework of Policy-Making for the Platform Businesses in Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
zahra khalili 1
somayeh labafi 2
Datis Khajeheian 3
1 M.A. in Media Management, Department of Cultural Management and Media, Faculty of Culture and Communication, Soore University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Somayeh Labafi; Assistant Professor, Information and Society Research Department, Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author)
3 Associate Professor, Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management. University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22085/jiscm.2021.140010
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to present a framework of policy-making for the platform businesses in Iran, by identifying the policy-related harms and principles, and obstacles and requirements of policy-making in this area. The research approach is qualitative and the thematic analysis method has been used for data analysis. The data collection tools were documentary study and in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 14 experts in the field, including the platform businesses’ policymakers and owners. The research findings showed that the harms faced by platform businesses’ policy-making include: not updating the governing laws, lack of integration of the authentication process, governmental bureaucratic process to receive the certificate, and lack of a policy-making body and integrated rules for business platforms. The policy barriers also include lack of privacy policies for the users, lack of having formal legislators concerning the platform businesses, lack of supervision from the policy-making bodies on how these businesses operate, and multiplicity of the licensing authorities. In this regard, the existence of a formal and supervisory policymaker from the actors within the platform ecosystem and governmental agencies, the extension of the policy-making network, updating the policies and laws can be mentioned as the policy requirements to address the obstacles. The results have been presented as a framework of policy-making for business platforms.
Keywords
Platform
Platform Policy
Businesses
Public Interest
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