Governability is the critical issue implementing digital government.
In Russia, the Federal Target Programme ‘Digital Economy’ is planned to be
implemented with the transition from an electronic to digital government. At
the heart of the formation is the idea of the state as a platform that allows
effectively implement public functions and services. The technocratic approach
dominates this idea and means that effective public policy and governance is
possible almost without persons and public relations. This approach leads not
only to a limiting the political possibilities of new technologies but also to the
formation of unintentional digital authoritarianism. The latter does not imply a
reforming the administrative system and is usually accompanied by excessive
technological optimism, centralisation tendencies in the management of
technology implementation, the surveillance and strengthening of algorithmitic
governability. This paper aims to critically analyse the technocratic values of
the government as a platform using the Russian case.