Plate-forme fermée

A closed platform, in the context of telecommunications and digital services, is a system where the service provider retains control over applications, content, and media, and restricts access to non-approved applications or content. This concept is often applied to mobile operators, such as the 1970s American telephone system, Bell, that had control over hardware and information. The term ‘walled garden’ is commonly used to describe such closed information services, with companies like AOL and Amazon successfully implementing this model. Such platforms often involve issues of data portability, vendor lock-in, digital rights management and registered user restrictions. Contrasting with open source^[1] platforms, closed platforms often draw comparisons with business ecosystems, gated communities, the dark web, and defective by design systems. The implications of these platforms are extensively discussed in various tech publications, research papers, and books.