The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age is a 2014 book by Astra Taylor.

In a seminal dismantling of techno-utopian visions, The People's Platform argues that the Internet in fact amplifies real-world inequities at least as much as it ameliorates them.

A handful of giant companies remain the gatekeepers, while the worst habits of the old media model -- the pressure to seek easy celebrity, to be quick and sensational above all -- have proliferated in the ad-driven system.

The online world does offer a unique opportunity, but a democratic culture that supports work of lasting value will not spring up from technology alone.

The LA Times states that “Taylor makes a thorough case that the technological advances we’ve been told constitute progress—that anyone can start a blog, that we can easily keep up with our friends (and frenemies) on Facebook, that Twitter can foment democratic revolution — are actually masking and, in some cases, exacerbating social ills that have long plagued our society… Compelling and well argued.”[5] The Boston Globe notes that “Taylor’s smart and nuanced overview of the new media landscape is the best I’ve recently read and an excellent summary of the mess we’re in….