Incidental governmentality: Big tech and the hidden rationalities of government

Abstract

This paper proposes and explores the idea of incidental governmentality. We argue that incidental governmentality offers a creative context to critically scrutinise the changing rationalities of government in the age of Big Tech and digital surveillance. Incidental governmentality exhibits the same pastoral character as biopolitics: as governmental power is realised through the provision of life affirming public goods and services including improved public health, financial security, and social connection. However, incidental governmentality is incidental to the extent that its governmental reasons are secondary to that of its corporate rationalities. This paper charts the historical origins of incidental forms governmentality and the value of applying this theoretical perspective to emerging governmental forms. Analysis outlines the nature and critical implications of incidental forms of governmentality and draws out its distinctions with corporate governmentality, corporate social responsibility, and algorithmic governmentality. This paper utilises the idea of incidental governmentality to make sense of the “governmental” interventions of Big-Tech companies such as Facebook and Google in response to COVID-19 in the UK. Through this case study analysis considers the processes that enabled the rapid mobilisation of Big Tech within public health initiatives and what this can tell us about the political and geographical implications of incidental governmentality.