In the June 19 2012 issue of the World Politics Review, Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert explores the role of Big Data and the growing political importance of the corporate giants that own and operate cyberspace.

“The decisions these companies take for commercial reasons can end up having political consequences, both domestically and internationally. And at the same time as they begin to flex their political muscles, the corporate behemoths that already control huge swaths of cyberspace are being deputized by governments with more-expansive policing responsibilities.

Are we entering a new age of corporate power in cyberspace? Are companies like Facebook and Google examples of a new type of “corporate sovereignty,” as Rebecca MacKinnon suggests?”

Click here to read more.