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| Photo: panel presenters of Digital fascism, Digital capitalism, Far right funding |
Mona Eltawahy, journalist and advisory board member of The Institute for Journalism and Social Change, opened the session by stating what is happening in the world right now is not new. But how we are fighting back is. Money plays a big role in how well organized the anti-rights movement is. Digital trade impacts workers and workers' rights, and there is a power imbalance in the world that we really need to understand.
Big tech taking over
The influence of the big tech companies is felt all over the world. When there is no strong (digital) infrastructure, which is the case in many countries in the global South, it is still easier to implement and gain a lot of influence. A clear warning was shared: we need to be aware that all our spaces that would normally be managed and monitored by the government, are being taken over by the big tech companies. The post service is now provided by Google and Amazon. Spotify has become our library. Outdoor spaces are coming to you on TikTok. Big tech is taking over this whole field and exploiting it, as is also the case in the garment industry where (often female) workers are being exploited to benefit big companies in the global North.
Colonial mechanisms
Bhumika Muchhala, a dalit organiser and photograper, explained that there is a long history with (neo)colonial mechanisms that perpetuate this power (and spaces) that the big tech companies claim for themselves. It is normalized that there are debts, fines and a hierarchy between countries. At the center of the monopoly, which includes big tech companies, is a system of exclusion. The state benefits from this unequal distribution and exploits the Global South that depends on marketing export products. Similar structures from the colonial past exist, which can be seen in the mining industry and other extractive sectors. This exploitation of resources is increasingly at the expense of people.
Lies and hate speech
Lulu Barrera, Numun Fund, from Mexico City discussed that we need to learn from the ecosystem that the big tech companies now operate in. We need to understand the system and how that impacts the vast reach of the right-wing movement, which impacts journalists and human rights defenders. Anti-gender and anti-democratic groups are working together in sharing strategies, and how to work globally. Her call is to understand who the actors are, what algorithms are used to spread the information, what the business models are that help spread lies and how hate speech mechanisms work online. And lastly, we need to think about the effects on the community and how this is reproduced.
Data
Only in the last 10 years has the digital space really been taken serious. The value of the digital industry is the same as any other industry, but the problem is that it involves a ‘massive extraction of data’ from all over the world to a couple of centers. When looking at this issue from a Global South perspective it shows you that they are creating value, but not providing intellectual property rights (IPR). This industry monetizes output: interactions, being seen, sharing, posting. Hate and love produces the most, so hate speech can monetize their output. So this is put “to work” with their own benefits taken as a priority.
The power of social media
The architecture of the system is the biggest problem, explains Sofía Scasserra from Transnational Institute. She gives an example from the United Kingdom of how this monetization of output can have negative effects. A 16-year-old girl had committed suicide in the United Kingdom and her father found out she was watching a lot of videos online with negative messages. Her father started a lawsuit against Meta, according to him the fault lies in the algorithm. But Meta of course claimed it is not their fault. This example shows the problems of the architecture: the machines and mechanisms are designed to do something so that you keep looking. This means that if you are triggered, certainly also negatively, you will keep watching. This can especially be problematic for young people. In Mexico, a particular influencer is getting a lot of attention among Latin American youth. This influencer has contact with Bukele in El Salvador, shows online how he travels there and how good Bukele's right-wing policies are. This is an example of who the actors are behind anti-rights movements. They have names, millions of followers and are often connected to political power holders. It is a stark reminder that politicians are aware of the power of social media and are ready to use it.
Money, money, money
The growing importance of finance is visible. Access to money capital has now becomes more important than land ownership and resources. The colonial history forms the basis of stealing of indigenous capital. It is perpetuated by debt structures that have been fought for since the 1950's. At the same time, laws are being designed to make this impossible. Next to the capitalization of other people’s land and resources, and your daily life, is that the people in power are now building a financial system outside of the state. Money is a system that had never succeeded in privatization, but now it seems to be happening through crypto currencies. This is building a liberal idea of a stateless world.
Individuals and groups
Where the government used to have answers for us and would support us, now it is only going to a few people and it is individualized. They want to make you feel that the economy cares about you. That you have freedom of speech because you can post something, that they care about your privacy and about you. However, this is not true. Money should be used for society, taking care of each other, that is what a democracy should do. To counterbalance this you have to focus on the community. On your community. An individual is easy to silence and destroy, but if you are organized as a group it is not easy.
What can we do?
One of the main responses in the discussion was to support the trade union movement and connect these structures to the women’s rights movement. They are already organized. In addition, we have to rethink how we work collectively on the Internet and think about feminist AI, otherwise we’ll repeat the same patterns. For example, by forcing algorithms to show a minimum number of women when you do a search.
A term that was mentioned in the discussion was ‘epistemic colonization’: a process whereby knowledge by the West (Anglo/ European) gets adopted and introduced as scientific knowledge in the Global South. This means that only one type of economy is presented as a possibility, although other forms exist, and have existed, before. Therefore, the panel encourages us to build alliances, establish local production, and make our communities stronger. To connect with communities face to face. And to redefine the role of the state.
By Britt Myren, Atria
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