Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the great simplification -- Algorithms and the critical theory of technology -- The one dimensionality of data -- Reactionary tendencies in the ruling class -- Platforms of power -- The whiteness of communication studies -- Misinformation and ideology -- Testbeds for authoritarianism -- Conclusion : the fatal abstractions of capitalist rule.

"As the US contends with issues of populism and de-democratization, this timely study considers the impacts of digital technologies on the country's politics and society. Timcke provides a Marxist analysis of the rise of digital media, social networks and technology giants like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. He looks at the impact of these new platforms and technologies on their users who have made them among the most valuable firms in the world. Offering bold new thinking across data politics and digital and economic sociology, this is a powerful demonstration of how algorithms have come to shape everyday life and political legitimacy in the US and beyond"-- Provided by publisher.