Abstract
This article examines the under-explored
role of the state in enabling platform capitalism by
analysing Microsoft's infrastructural investment in Greece,
as part of the country's post-pandemic ‘National Recovery
and Resilience Plan: Greece 2.0’. While much of the critical
literature emphasises platform companies’ control over
infrastructure and data, we argue that state facilitation is
a crucial component of platform capital accumulation.
Through a case study of Microsoft's construction of three
data centres in the region of Attica, we show how the Greek
state actively facilitated this investment, framing it as a
driver of modernisation and economic recovery. We base our
study on a comprehensive document analysis of official
communications, regulatory frameworks and legal documents.
This involvement exemplifies how semi-peripheral states like
Greece, shaped by neoliberal restructuring and economic
dependence, contribute to consolidating the power of tech
corporations, often at the expense of local communities and
the environment. By integrating theories of state capitalism
and techno-colonialism with critical platform scholarship,
this article contributes to a deeper understanding of the
political economy of platform capitalism, revealing the
symbiotic yet exploitative nature of state-tech partnerships
and urging a re-centring of the state's role in facilitating
corporate dominance over digital infrastructures and global
platform capitalism.