Digital Welfare in Platform Societies: Governance, Participation, and Social Vulnerabilities

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has fundamentally transformed the ways in which welfare systems are designed, delivered, and experienced across contemporary platform societies. As governments increasingly rely on digital platforms, data infrastructures, and automated decision-making to administer public services, these tools promise greater efficiency, responsiveness, and accessibility for both institutions and citizens. At the same time, digital welfare systems raise pressing concerns about equity, transparency, privacy, and accountability, particularly when vulnerable populations encounter barriers to access or are subject to opaque forms of automated assessment. Questions of governance and participation are therefore central, as meaningful public oversight and citizen engagement are needed to ensure that technological innovation supports rather than undermines social rights. Exploring this topic is essential for identifying practical ways to make digital welfare systems more transparent, inclusive, and accountable while protecting the rights and needs of vulnerable communities. Digital Welfare in Platform Societies: Governance, Participation, and Social Vulnerabilities explores the complex relationships between technology, public administration, social policy, and digital citizenship through a collection of empirical studies, theoretical contributions, and policy-oriented analyses. The chapters investigate how platform-based governance, artificial intelligence, algorithmic decision-making, social media, and digital participation influence access to welfare services, institutional trust, labor market integration, cultural engagement, and social inclusion. Covering topics such as administrative entrapment, guidance systems, and user experience, this book is an excellent resource for scholars, researchers, graduate and post-graduate students, policymakers, public administrators, social service professionals, digital governance specialists, and more.