Platforms, Generative AI and Cultural Industries: Economic and Regulatory Dilemmas in the Era of Algorithmic Governance
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Published
23-06-2026
Fernando Checa García
Víctor Núñez Fernández
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2919-3435
Víctor Núñez Fernández
Abstract
This paper examines how generative artificial intelligence reshapes cultural industries within the broader platformization of communication and the digital economy. Based on a documentary analysis of European and Spanish regulatory frameworks (AI Act, DSA, DMA, GDPR), it explores the economic and political dilemmas arising from the concentration of power in platforms, the challenges for copyright regimes, and the transformations of creative labor. Findings reveal tensions between innovation, cultural sustainability, and algorithmic governance, proposing regulatory rebalancing scenarios within the contemporary cultural ecosystem. The study contributes to debates on platform capitalism and the governance of cultural production.
How to Cite
Checa García, F., & Núñez Fernández, V. (2026). Platforms, Generative AI and Cultural Industries: Economic and Regulatory Dilemmas in the Era of Algorithmic Governance. ZER - Journal of Communication Studies, 31(60). https://doi.org/10.1387/zer.27829
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Keywords
Cultural industries, Digital platforms, Artificial intelligence, Algorithmic governance
References
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Bacchi, C. (2009). Analysing policy: What’s the problem represented to be? Pearson.
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Burrell, J. (2016). How the machine ‘thinks’: Understanding opacity in machine learning algorithms. Big Data & Society, 3(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951715622512
Calleja Reina, M. R. (2024). La inteligencia artificial y su derivada en los derechos de propiedad intelectual en la cultura: retos y amenazas. Periférica Internacional. Revista para el Análisis de la Cultura y el Territorio, 24. https://doi.org/10.25267/Periferica.2023.i24.06
Casilli, A. (2019). En attendant les robots: Enquête sur le travail du clic. Seuil.
Castrillo, C. F. (2024). Maquinolatría y creatividad poshumana entre futurismo, arte generativo e inteligencia artificial. Artnodes: Revista de Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología, 34, 1–8. http://10.7238/artnodes.v0i34.427415
Cetina Presuel, R. (2024). Imitadores estadísticos: La cuestión de la autoría y la inteligencia artificial generativa. Una visión comparada entre el derecho de autor de EE.UU. y la Unión Europea. Inteligencia Artificial, 27(73), 14–37. https://doi.org/10.4114/intartif.vol27iss73pp14-37
Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2019). The costs of connection: How data is colonizing human life and appropriating it for capitalism. Stanford University Press.
Cunningham, S., & Craig, D. (2019). Social media entertainment: The new intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. NYU Press.
Eriksson, M., Fleischer, R., Johansson, A., Snickars, P., & Vonderau, P. (2019). Spotify teardown: Inside the black box of streaming music. MIT Press.
Escudero, C. (2020). El análisis temático como herramienta de investigación en el área de la Comunicación Social: Contribuciones y limitaciones. La Trama de la Comunicación, 24(2), 89–100. https://doi.org/10.35305/lt.v24i2.746
Fernández-Castrillo, C. (2024). Maquinolatría y creatividad poshumana entre futurismo, arte generativo e inteligencia artificial. Artnodes: Revista de Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología, 34, 1–8. http://10.7238/artnodes.v0i34.427415
Floridi, L., & Chiriatti, M. (2020). GPT-3: Its nature, scope, limits, and consequences. Minds and Machines, 30(4), 681–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-020-09548-1
Fuchs, C. (2022). Digital capitalism. Routledge.
García Álvarez, B. (2021). Las plataformas audiovisuales de streaming y la competencia. Revista de Estudios Europeos, 78, 203–223. https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/48582
Gervais, D. (2020). The machine as author. Iowa Law Review, 105(5), 2053–2081. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3359524
Gillespie, T. (2018). Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, content moderation, and the hidden decisions that shape social media. Yale University Press.
Gómez-Pérez, F. J., Castro-Higueras, A., & Pérez-Rufí, J. P. (2022). Netflix y la producción de cine español: Políticas audiovisuales y relaciones con la estructura de la producción de cine español. Zer. Revista de Estudios de Comunicación, 27(53), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1387/zer.23784
Gomez-Uribe, C. A., & Hunt, N. (2015). The Netflix recommender system: Algorithms, business value, and innovation. ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems, 6(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1145/2843948
Helberger, N., Pierson, J., & Poell, T. (2020). Governing online platforms: From contested to cooperative responsibility. The Information Society, 36(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2017.1391913
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2019). The cultural industries (4th ed.). Sage.
Innerarity, D. (2024). Defensa y crítica de la gobernanza algorítmica. Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, 138, 11–25. https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2024.138.3.11
Jara, N. (2024). Reflexiones sobre la plataformización de la cultura y la creación independiente en la era digital. Revista de Sociología, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-529X.2024.75739
Jasanoff, S. (2004). States of knowledge: The co-production of science and social order. Routledge.
Jiménez Cárdona, N. J. (2024). El uso transformador de las empresas de IA: Entre la libertad creativa y los derechos de propiedad intelectual. IDP. Revista de Internet, Derecho y Política, 40, 1–11. https//10.7238/idp.v0i40.421926
Johnson, D. (Ed.). (2022). From networks to Netflix: A guide to changing channels (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003099499
Lobato, R. (2019). Netflix nations: The geography of digital distribution. New York University Press. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479882281.001.0001
Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solutions. Klagenfurt.
Napoli, P. M. (2019). Social media and the public interest. Columbia University Press.
Passoth, J. H. (2020). Music, recommender systems and the techno-politics of platforms, data, and algorithms. TechnoScienceSociety: Technological Reconfigurations of Science and Society (pp. 157–174). Springer.
Pasquinelli, M., & Joler, V. (2021). The nooscope manifested: Artificial intelligence as instrument of knowledge extractivism. AI & Society, 36 (1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01097-6
Pauner Chulvi, C. (2023). Transparencia algorítmica en los medios de comunicación y las plataformas digitales. Revista Española de la Transparencia, 17 Extra, 107–136. https://doi.org/10.51915/ret.308
Prey, R., & Esteve-Del-Valle, M. (2023). The algorithmic network imaginary: How music artists understand and experience their algorithmically constructed networks. The Information Society, 40(1), 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2023.2274070
Presno Linera, M. Á. (2023). La propuesta de «Ley de Inteligencia Artificial» europea. Revista de las Cortes Generales, 116, 81–133. https://doi.org/10.33426/rcg/2023/116/1775
Radovanović, B. S. (2022). TikTok and sound: Changing the ways of creating, promoting, distributing and listening to music. INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology, 9, 51–73. https://doi.org/10.51191/issn.2637-1898.2022.5.9.51
Roche, C., Wall, P. J., & Lewis, D. (2023). Ethics and diversity in artificial intelligence policies, strategies and initiatives. AI and Ethics, 3(4), 1095–1115.
Saiz García, C. (2019). Las obras creadas por sistemas de inteligencia artificial y su protección por el derecho de autor. InDret, 1. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3365458
Samuelson, P. (2024). Thinking about possible remedies in the generative AI copyright cases. Communications of the ACM. Advance online publication. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4770671
Sandvig, C., Hamilton, K., Karahalios, K., & Langbort, C. (2014). Auditing algorithms: Research methods for detecting discrimination on Internet platforms. Data and Discrimination, 1, 1–23. https://ai.equineteurope.org/system/files/2022-02/ICA2014-Sandvig.pdf
Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice. Sage.
Sedeño-Valdellos, A. (2023). Nuevas lógicas de la producción y recepción musical y convergencias estratégicas en el ecosistema digital. Transformaciones del videoclip musical y auge del livestreaming. Hipertext.net, 27, 141–150. https://doi.org/10.31009/hipertext.net.2023.i27.15
Spotify. (2023, febrero 22). Introducing DJ: A new AI DJ in your pocket. Spotify Newsroom. https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-02-22/spotify-debuts-a-new-ai-dj-right-in-your-pocket/
Srnicek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. Polity.
van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M. (2018). The platform society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford University Press.
Vásquez, P. A. R. (2023). Ética de la inteligencia artificial. Recomendación de la UNESCO, noviembre 2021. Compendium, 26(50), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10271853
Waltermann, A. (2021). On the legal responsibility of artificially intelligent agents: Addressing three misconceptions. Technology and Regulation, 2021, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.71265/zyckpp83
Wayne, M. L. (2021). Netflix audience data, streaming industry discourse, and the emerging realities of ‘popular’ television. Media, Culture & Society, 44(2), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211022723
Yeung, K. (2018). Algorithmic regulation: A critical interrogation. Regulation & Governance, 12(4), 505–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12158
Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. PublicAffairs.
Ardeliya, V. E., Taylor, J., & Wolfson, J. (2024). Exploration of artificial intelligence in creative fields: Generative art, music, and design. International Journal of Cyber and IT Service Management, 4(1), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.34306/ijcitsm.v4i1.149
Bacchi, C. (2009). Analysing policy: What’s the problem represented to be? Pearson.
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Burrell, J. (2016). How the machine ‘thinks’: Understanding opacity in machine learning algorithms. Big Data & Society, 3(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951715622512
Calleja Reina, M. R. (2024). La inteligencia artificial y su derivada en los derechos de propiedad intelectual en la cultura: retos y amenazas. Periférica Internacional. Revista para el Análisis de la Cultura y el Territorio, 24. https://doi.org/10.25267/Periferica.2023.i24.06
Casilli, A. (2019). En attendant les robots: Enquête sur le travail du clic. Seuil.
Castrillo, C. F. (2024). Maquinolatría y creatividad poshumana entre futurismo, arte generativo e inteligencia artificial. Artnodes: Revista de Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología, 34, 1–8. http://10.7238/artnodes.v0i34.427415
Cetina Presuel, R. (2024). Imitadores estadísticos: La cuestión de la autoría y la inteligencia artificial generativa. Una visión comparada entre el derecho de autor de EE.UU. y la Unión Europea. Inteligencia Artificial, 27(73), 14–37. https://doi.org/10.4114/intartif.vol27iss73pp14-37
Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2019). The costs of connection: How data is colonizing human life and appropriating it for capitalism. Stanford University Press.
Cunningham, S., & Craig, D. (2019). Social media entertainment: The new intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. NYU Press.
Eriksson, M., Fleischer, R., Johansson, A., Snickars, P., & Vonderau, P. (2019). Spotify teardown: Inside the black box of streaming music. MIT Press.
Escudero, C. (2020). El análisis temático como herramienta de investigación en el área de la Comunicación Social: Contribuciones y limitaciones. La Trama de la Comunicación, 24(2), 89–100. https://doi.org/10.35305/lt.v24i2.746
Fernández-Castrillo, C. (2024). Maquinolatría y creatividad poshumana entre futurismo, arte generativo e inteligencia artificial. Artnodes: Revista de Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología, 34, 1–8. http://10.7238/artnodes.v0i34.427415
Floridi, L., & Chiriatti, M. (2020). GPT-3: Its nature, scope, limits, and consequences. Minds and Machines, 30(4), 681–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-020-09548-1
Fuchs, C. (2022). Digital capitalism. Routledge.
García Álvarez, B. (2021). Las plataformas audiovisuales de streaming y la competencia. Revista de Estudios Europeos, 78, 203–223. https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/48582
Gervais, D. (2020). The machine as author. Iowa Law Review, 105(5), 2053–2081. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3359524
Gillespie, T. (2018). Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, content moderation, and the hidden decisions that shape social media. Yale University Press.
Gómez-Pérez, F. J., Castro-Higueras, A., & Pérez-Rufí, J. P. (2022). Netflix y la producción de cine español: Políticas audiovisuales y relaciones con la estructura de la producción de cine español. Zer. Revista de Estudios de Comunicación, 27(53), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1387/zer.23784
Gomez-Uribe, C. A., & Hunt, N. (2015). The Netflix recommender system: Algorithms, business value, and innovation. ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems, 6(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1145/2843948
Helberger, N., Pierson, J., & Poell, T. (2020). Governing online platforms: From contested to cooperative responsibility. The Information Society, 36(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2017.1391913
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2019). The cultural industries (4th ed.). Sage.
Innerarity, D. (2024). Defensa y crítica de la gobernanza algorítmica. Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, 138, 11–25. https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2024.138.3.11
Jara, N. (2024). Reflexiones sobre la plataformización de la cultura y la creación independiente en la era digital. Revista de Sociología, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-529X.2024.75739
Jasanoff, S. (2004). States of knowledge: The co-production of science and social order. Routledge.
Jiménez Cárdona, N. J. (2024). El uso transformador de las empresas de IA: Entre la libertad creativa y los derechos de propiedad intelectual. IDP. Revista de Internet, Derecho y Política, 40, 1–11. https//10.7238/idp.v0i40.421926
Johnson, D. (Ed.). (2022). From networks to Netflix: A guide to changing channels (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003099499
Lobato, R. (2019). Netflix nations: The geography of digital distribution. New York University Press. https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479882281.001.0001
Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solutions. Klagenfurt.
Napoli, P. M. (2019). Social media and the public interest. Columbia University Press.
Passoth, J. H. (2020). Music, recommender systems and the techno-politics of platforms, data, and algorithms. TechnoScienceSociety: Technological Reconfigurations of Science and Society (pp. 157–174). Springer.
Pasquinelli, M., & Joler, V. (2021). The nooscope manifested: Artificial intelligence as instrument of knowledge extractivism. AI & Society, 36 (1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01097-6
Pauner Chulvi, C. (2023). Transparencia algorítmica en los medios de comunicación y las plataformas digitales. Revista Española de la Transparencia, 17 Extra, 107–136. https://doi.org/10.51915/ret.308
Prey, R., & Esteve-Del-Valle, M. (2023). The algorithmic network imaginary: How music artists understand and experience their algorithmically constructed networks. The Information Society, 40(1), 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2023.2274070
Presno Linera, M. Á. (2023). La propuesta de «Ley de Inteligencia Artificial» europea. Revista de las Cortes Generales, 116, 81–133. https://doi.org/10.33426/rcg/2023/116/1775
Radovanović, B. S. (2022). TikTok and sound: Changing the ways of creating, promoting, distributing and listening to music. INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology, 9, 51–73. https://doi.org/10.51191/issn.2637-1898.2022.5.9.51
Roche, C., Wall, P. J., & Lewis, D. (2023). Ethics and diversity in artificial intelligence policies, strategies and initiatives. AI and Ethics, 3(4), 1095–1115.
Saiz García, C. (2019). Las obras creadas por sistemas de inteligencia artificial y su protección por el derecho de autor. InDret, 1. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3365458
Samuelson, P. (2024). Thinking about possible remedies in the generative AI copyright cases. Communications of the ACM. Advance online publication. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4770671
Sandvig, C., Hamilton, K., Karahalios, K., & Langbort, C. (2014). Auditing algorithms: Research methods for detecting discrimination on Internet platforms. Data and Discrimination, 1, 1–23. https://ai.equineteurope.org/system/files/2022-02/ICA2014-Sandvig.pdf
Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice. Sage.
Sedeño-Valdellos, A. (2023). Nuevas lógicas de la producción y recepción musical y convergencias estratégicas en el ecosistema digital. Transformaciones del videoclip musical y auge del livestreaming. Hipertext.net, 27, 141–150. https://doi.org/10.31009/hipertext.net.2023.i27.15
Spotify. (2023, febrero 22). Introducing DJ: A new AI DJ in your pocket. Spotify Newsroom. https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-02-22/spotify-debuts-a-new-ai-dj-right-in-your-pocket/
Srnicek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. Polity.
van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M. (2018). The platform society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford University Press.
Vásquez, P. A. R. (2023). Ética de la inteligencia artificial. Recomendación de la UNESCO, noviembre 2021. Compendium, 26(50), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10271853
Waltermann, A. (2021). On the legal responsibility of artificially intelligent agents: Addressing three misconceptions. Technology and Regulation, 2021, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.71265/zyckpp83
Wayne, M. L. (2021). Netflix audience data, streaming industry discourse, and the emerging realities of ‘popular’ television. Media, Culture & Society, 44(2), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211022723
Yeung, K. (2018). Algorithmic regulation: A critical interrogation. Regulation & Governance, 12(4), 505–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12158
Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. PublicAffairs.
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