Abstract
Can digital platforms make law and governance more efficient? Both China and the United States host some of the world's largest digital platforms, which lead in internet technologies, provide critical digital infrastructure, and mediate private communication and public discourse. While the American experiment has stalled, the Chinese government has made remarkable progress in leveraging digital platforms to enhance efficiency in law and governance.
The study highlights China's successes in streamlining court operations, curbing online piracy, and reshaping interactions between the Chinese government and its citizens. In practice, digital platforms have become co-governors, exerting substantial influence over public institutions rather than merely serving as conduits of state power. They have not only developed the technological infrastructure for the online processing of litigation—from filing to adjudication—but also promoted these systems to local courts and even drafted rules for the smart court regime later adopted by the Supreme People's Court. In the area of copyright protection, Chinese digital platforms have assisted with administrative enforcement and fundamentally transformed the landscape of copyright litigation. Furthermore, these platforms have enabled not only online citizen participation but also government feedback and censorship, while exercising authority over both public and private actors in the digital sphere.
Through the lens of "governing with digital platforms," the paper extends the existing literature on platform law, which has largely focused on the governance of platforms or by platforms. It further distinguishes this concept from "governing through platforms," a formulation that reflects the Chinese government's initial intentions but fails to capture the full dynamics of the state–platform alliance. At the same time, the paper underscores the risks inherent in such alliances, including constraints on individual freedom and deficits in accountability. The article concludes that, while the United States can draw lessons from China's experience by proactively governing with digital platforms to improve law and governance, it must also implement robust accountability mechanisms to safeguard democratic values.
Citation
Shitong Qiao,
Governing With Digital Platforms:
A Chinese Lesson for the U.S.?,
36 Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law
1-42
(2026)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol36/iss1/1