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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Phys.

Sec. Social Physics

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2025.1538742

A study of government regulation's strategy for solving the algorithmic black-box puzzle of digital platforms: a complex network-based perspective

Provisionally accepted
Xiao Jian Xiao Jian *Gehui Zhu Gehui Zhu Tong Mu Tong Mu Mingliang Tang Mingliang Tang
  • Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In the era of the digital economy, based on the iteration of information technology and the enhancement of the arithmetic power of huge amounts of data, the economic model of digital platforms driven by data has become an important carrier of digital trade and digital economic development. By the reason of the dynamism, cross-border and complexity characteristics compared with traditional physical platforms, the development of digital platforms is no longer limited to the level of specific commodity goods or services, and the traditional regulatory system cannot match and adapt to the new attributes of digital platforms them. Therefore, the construction of a flexible, diversified and pluralistic co-management hybrid regulatory model is imminent. This article constructs small-world model to study government regulation of digital platforms. The small world model can effectively describe the connectivity between nodes (users, platforms, regulators, etc.) in the ecosystem of digital platforms, which helps researchers to understand the complexity of the network structure and the propagation pattern of information in the network and design more effective regulatory strategies. In addition, small-world models can be used to assess the robustness of regulatory measures in different scenarios, and to study the stability and information flow capability of the network in the face of node failure or attacks, reflecting the interaction between users and platforms. The research results are as follows: First, the simulation results of government regulatory intensity indicate the government's regulatory strength for the algorithmic black-box problem needs to be kept at an appropriate standard. Second, the simulation results government punishment intensity show that we can not only rely on a single regulatory means, but also need to take the composite strategy as far as possible, encouraging multiple bodies to participate in the regulation and collaborative governance to construct a fair and efficient digital transaction environment. Finally, the dynamic simulation results of sample size variation suggest that the government needs to adopt a variety of means to cooperate in forming an efficient and reasonable regulatory system to regulate digital platforms in accordance with the law, avoiding one-size-fits-all regulatory strategies.

    Keywords: Digital platform, Complex Network, algorithm black box, Government Regulation, digital economy

    Received: 03 Dec 2024; Accepted: 10 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Jian, Zhu, Mu and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiao Jian, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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