 The digital economy is growing rapidly, improving our everyday lives with more, new and better services. But we, as workers and consumers, have no meaningful say over this increasingly dominant aspect of modern society. Whilst digital platforms offer convenience, flexibility and independence, they are owned by a small number of wealthy shareholders and run in their private interests. This comes at the human cost of preparious employment, surveillance and the growth of tech monopolies that extract wealth from everybody else. From the workers who create that wealth with their labour and from the consumers whose data is collected, sold and then used to influence our choices, it really doesn't have to be this way. A new generation of entrepreneurs and startups are rejecting the status quo and responding to the growing demand from consumers and workers seeking alternatives. This emerging movement of progressive entrepreneurs are using new cooperative models which allow them to provide services that rival dominant platform businesses, whilst at the same time offering workers and users a stake and a say. These platform cooperatives distribute ownership and create the opportunity for those closest to the business to shape it and benefit from its success. In doing so, they are also claiming ground towards a more equal society. I'm a musician on Resonate, which is a streaming platform co-op where artists share and co-op the platform. As a co-op, we get a fairer income and build our audiences out of real music lovers who care about sustaining the artist's dream. I'm sure we started TaxiUp as a cooperative to make more money, get better conditions and offer our customers a better deal with no outside interest to be prioritised. I'm Kate, co-founder of the platform cooperative Equal Care Co-op. We want to change the way people access, receive and work within care. Being a platform co-op ensures that the people on the front line that give us and the receivers of care and support are the ones making the decisions. Ultimately, we have a choice to make. We can stick with the old format that drives inequality or we can use the digital economy as a force for positive change. It's time to build a more equitable, democratic and secure future. It's time to make the digital economy our own. To learn more about the support available for platform co-ops, go to unfound.co-op.