Contributor(s): Professor José van Dijck, Professor Sonia Livingstone | Online platforms are penetrating the organisation of societies, disrupting private and public sectors. What is their impact on the governance of public life and social order? José van Dijck is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam and President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Sonia Livingstone (@Livingstone_S) is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. Andrew Murray (@AndrewDMurray) is Professor of Law with particular reference to New Media and Technology Law at LSE. LSE Law (@lselaw) is an integral part of the School's mission, plays a major role in policy debates & in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world. The Department of Media and Communications (@MediaLSE) undertakes outstanding and innovative research and provides excellent research-based graduate programmes for the study of media and communications. The Department was established in 2003 and in 2014 our research was ranked number 1 in the most recent UK research evaluation, with 91% of research outputs ranked world-leading or internationally excellent.