The App Economy

Making Sense of Platform Power in the Age of AI
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-5292-4770-1
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 192 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Mobile apps have transformed how we live, work and connect – but at what cost?

This book examines the immense power Apple and Google wield over society, arising from their control of app stores as well as mobile operating systems and browsers. With the EU’s new Digital Services Act defining their influence as a potential “systemic risk,” Konrad Kollnig unpacks the implications for competition, privacy and regulation.

Offering a clear roadmap for scholars as well as policy-makers, this book not only reveals the hidden risks of app ecosystems but also outlines practical solutions for ensuring fairer digital markets.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kollnig, Konrad

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik EDV & Informatik Allgemein Soziale und ethische Aspekte der EDV
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Ethische Themen & Debatten: Wissenschaft, Technologie, Medizin
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften Digitale Medien, Internet, Telekommunikation
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Verwaltungsrecht Allgemeines Informationsrecht, Datenschutzrecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Introduction: Welcome the Rulers of the App Economy

Part I: Foundations

2 An Introduction to the App Economy for Non-Techies

3 A Brief History of the App Economy: From Landline to AI

4 The Legal Framework of App Stores

5 App Research with Technical and Legal Methods

Part II: Risks

6 App Monetisation and Moderation

7 (The Lack of) Data Protection, Privacy and the Rule of Law

8 Health, Autonomy and Addiction

9 Smartphones on Wheels? Sustainability of and beyond the App Economy

Part III: Conclusions

10 How Apple and Google exert their Dominance over Society

11 How to respond to Apple and Google’s Dominance

12 Concluding Thoughts: Building App Infrastructure to Withstand Geopolitics

Über Autor(innen)

Kollnig, Konrad
Konrad Kollnig is Assistant Professor in Technology Law at Maastricht University.