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Electronic colonialism or digital colonialism, sometimes abbreviated to eColonialism, was conceived by
Herbert Schiller Herbert Irving Schiller (November 5, 1919 – January 29, 2000) was an American media critic, sociologist, author, and scholar. He earned his PhD in 1960 from New York University. Schiller warned of two major trends in his prolific writings an ...
as documented in his 1976 text ''Communication and Cultural Domination''. In this work, Schiller postulated the advent of a kind of technological colonialism, a system that subjugates
Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
and impoverished nations to the will of world powers such as the United States, Japan, and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, given the necessary "importation of communication equipment and foreign-produced software".McPhail, Thomas L. Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends. Paperback. Allyn and Bacon: Boston. 2002. Paperback. As scholarship on this phenomenon has evolved, it has come to describe a scenario in which it has become normal for people to be exploited through data and other forms of technology. It draws parallels to
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
in the historical sense when territories and resources were appropriated by the wealthy and powerful for profit.


Background

Similar to the expansion and establishment of territorial colonies and
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
s by European colonial powers during the
New Imperialism In historical contexts, New Imperialism characterizes a period of colonial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Com The period featured an unprecedented pursuit of ove ...
era (as exemplified by the
Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
), the
Information Revolution The term information revolution describes current economic, social and technological trends beyond the Industrial Revolution. Many competing terms have been proposed that focus on different aspects of this societal development. The British polymat ...
ushered in a new era of
socialization In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultur ...
. Like the notion of traditional
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
, this revolution urged multimedia conglomerates (empires) to regard audience
demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
(territories) as obtainable colonies. Spurred into existence by the "demise of
Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
," market globalization and rapid innovation within the communication technology sector, Electronic Colonialist Theory posits a contemporary form of
neo-imperial In historical contexts, New Imperialism characterizes a period of colonial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Com The period featured an unprecedented pursuit of over ...
reign. This is based not on expansive military acquisition and procurement, but rather on capturing the
mind share Mind share relates to the development of consumer awareness or popularity, and is one of the main objectives of advertising and promotion. When people think of examples of a product type or category, they usually think of a limited number of bra ...
and consumer habits of the target demographic — a
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
empire. According to the theory, as the world becomes more dependent on 21st-century communication streams and lives become inextricably entangled with
cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...
and the
Internet of things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other comm ...
(IoT), the multimedia hegemonic control will scale in stride and continue to proliferate in the future.


History

With the conclusion of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1945, the multimedia and communications sector began its trans-border expansion as the advent of television became a cornerstone of advertising and consumerist trends. Prior to 1945, "there was no international communication theory." It was only after the dissolution of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in the early 1980s that electronic colonialism began to manifest in its contemporary form. During this era, United States
President Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
implemented his policy of "privatization, liberalization and deregulation," during what was coined the Privatization Revolution — a recasting of the American view on
market forces In economics, a market is a composition of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations or infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering ...
(i.e. aggregate supply and demand), free enterprise,
Laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...
capitalism and economic
entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
. It was through this that the
virulence Virulence is a pathogen's or microorganism's ability to cause damage to a host. In most, especially in animal systems, virulence refers to the degree of damage caused by a microbe to its host. The pathogenicity of an organism—its ability to ca ...
of the multimedia inroads was magnified. The increased cross-border media flow during and after the Reagan era spurred a flurry of
merger and acquisition Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
activity. This led to a movement toward corporate consolidation that would later define the media industry's predominant growth tactic well into the 21st century (e.g.
WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
).


Digital colonialism and the Global South

The origination of the concept draws on early colonialists' arrival on African shores to make profit and fulfill
imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
objectives through
enslavement Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and exploitation of local labor to obtain the maximum amount of
natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
and
raw material A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. As feedst ...
s present. This also was achieved through the building of crucial infrastructure to attain these goals and facilitate imports and exports. Colonialism in the electronic age, on the other hand, takes place through the use of digital devices, mediums and systems. According to this version, communication systems such as social media platforms and
infrastructures Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
that enable network connectivity in the
Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
are present exclusively for data harvesting, profit generation, storage and
analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
. These platforms act as nets that capture ordinary occurrences so that they can be marketed. Furthermore, digital colonialism can be defined as the retrieval and control of data from individuals without obtaining clear consent from them, "through communication networks developed and owned by Western tech companies." In these scenarios, individuals often develop the data that is ultimately extracted by monitoring their own activities. Sometimes this is done on their own accord, but in other instance it can be a job or contract requirement. Through digital colonialism, Western forces such as the United States or other world powers like China construct critical and extensive digital infrastructure in the Global South to extract this data and gain monopoly over it. Large corporations design software, apps and other types of digital technology to fortify their hold on the data, as well as their stake in the tech ecosystem. In this context, the resource extracted from the continent becomes data itself. Limited data protection laws and infrastructure ease this process. This has led to a type of “tech hegemony” where technological elites in the United States have convinced people that the public must follow a ruling-class layout for operating in the digital world. As the concept of digital colonialism has evolved, so has the way in which scholars have studied it. While some authors have looked at it as an extension of existing forms of colonialism, others have looked at it as a totally new form of
oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...
. The latter looks specifically at the colonialism of data, and how this practice combines the predatory nature of colonialism in the classic sense with the abstract ways value is determined in the digital age. A key idea of this theory is how it views data as natural resources that are abundant, easy to take, available to be profited from and whose exhaustion is not a problem. This views data as a byproduct of people's lives that cannot be owned, much like the air people exhale. Big Data justifies its actions by framing the work people do to create posts or disseminate other personal information as “just sharing.” This personal information is viewed as a raw material that is readily available and potentially valuable. Corporations such as
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
,
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
,
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
,
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
,
Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the la ...
,
Alibaba Ali Baba (character), Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Films * Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902 film), ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1902 film), a F ...
and
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
claim they are the only ones capable of processing such data and thus can make society a better place through this process — much like how those who perpetrated colonialism in the historical sense claimed it was a “civilization” project. In reality, people are encouraged to share their data through self-tracking platforms that put a premium on likes and followers, standout performance or
gamification Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, organizations, and activities by creating similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage users. This is generally accomplished thro ...
. The accumulation of this information into
Big Data Though used sometimes loosely partly because of a lack of formal definition, the interpretation that seems to best describe Big data is the one associated with large body of information that we could not comprehend when used only in smaller am ...
results in the generation of a digital profile for millions of users, which carry sensitive and valuable insight into the individuals. The financial weight of this information is in the ability to sell it to data brokers, which is then transformed into
targeted advertising Targeted advertising is a form of advertising, including online advertising, that is directed towards an audience with certain traits, based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting. These traits can either be demographic with a focus ...
aimed at the users through the third party corporations that acquire it. This digital revolution has created a scenario in which it is not always unique people who are being targeted and influenced, but rather “data doubles.” Through constant data harvesting and processing, corporations can create a digital version of consumers that can be manipulated. Platforms like
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
structure their content and marketing around this information to suggest ways to make the streaming service easier or more personalized for its users. Research on the topic indicates a possible pitfall with machine-to-machine communication in that it is actual people tied to potential discrimination developed by algorithms. Thus, decisions on who gets a better price at a grocery story or approved for a housing loan could be subject to potentially flawed data that was collected from a data double. The practice of interpreting this mass data generated by the infrastructure, and extracting coherent and specialized insight from it, is incredibly difficult to do. This is why only a handful of corporations dominate the sphere, and there is a subsequent lack of competition. When the force of this position is exerted on regions with limited infrastructure and data protection laws, the researchers in the area submit that the "business model transitions into a form of digital colonialism." Various projects by companies like Facebook and
Alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...
specifically geared towards Africa, such as FreeBasics, ProjectAires, Project CSquared, and the now-defunct
Project Loon Loon LLC was an Alphabet Inc. subsidiary working on providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. The company used high-altitude balloons in the stratosphere at an altitude of to to create an aerial wireless network with up to 1 Mbi ...
demonstrate a further expansion of profit seeking. The idea of digital colonialism is the replication of early colonialists' infrastructure projects today in the form of digital/network connectivity infrastructure, a form of technological
evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
, according to some. In this scenario, companies such as Facebook and Alphabet generate profit from their software and
online services An online service provider (OSP) can, for example, be an Internet service provider, an email provider, a news provider (press), an entertainment provider (music, movies), a search engine, an e-commerce site, an online banking site, a health site, ...
in the region, rather than actually engaging in the development in long-term, local infrastructure to provide steady economic growth in the Global South.


Digital neo-colonialism

As the concept of digital colonialism has evolved, so has the manner in which it has been studied. While this concept includes the harvest of data, it has expanded to other areas of the digital realm such as the hardware and infrastructure that powers the internet. This has helped bring about a need for the concept of digital neo-colonialism. Historically, the concept of
neo-colonialism Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, gl ...
came about as a way to describe how Western powers exerted dominance over their former colonies despite formal independence. In turn, digital neo-colonialism illuminates more subtle, indirect forms of domination that function by pushing a “new normal” concept and involves a complicated network of public and private participants. This is the main difference from digital colonialism, which describes direct control of individuals in the digital realm by corporations/governments/state actors. It is important to note, however, that digital neo-colonialism did not replace digital colonialism. Rather, both forms of digital imperialism are very much present at the same time. A key tenet of digital neo-colonialism is in how some platforms validate their actions, particularly with “terms of service” agreements. Here, platforms present themselves as services people can voluntarily opt out of, giving the illusion of control in the scenario. The case of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) provides an example of this. ICANN is a nonprofit made up of multiple stakeholders dedicated to ensuring the safety and stability of the internet by maintaining and operating a number of databases, including IP address and domain name systems. Originally under the auspices of the United States, over the years it became clear that ICANN was marginalizing the Global South. Even after the U.S. gave up direct control of the nonprofit to multiple stakeholders in 2016, the country's free-market principles and corporate culture remained largely baked into the structure of the organization. Thus, many of ICANN's decisions continued to marginalize the Global South despite the United States not having direct control of the organization.


Methods of resistance

A number of scholars have offered possible options for resisting digital imperialism, with most noting that more research needs to be conducted in the field. The most common refrain is a need for awareness. Understanding that digital colonialism exists and how it functions is a critical first step toward resistance. Decentralization of the internet away from hubs like the United States and China also is seen as a possible avenue for resisting digital colonialism. Some authors have explored more active solutions to resistance, including data-flooding software designed to confuse algorithms and wearable masks or tattoos that can befuddle facial recognition. In another example, coding designed to alter databases have been placed over license plates by drivers to trick traffic enforcement cameras. Rather than record the license plate, the coding instructs the traffic software to delete its database. Legislation that prevents large technology corporations from capitalizing on user data is viewed as a more realistic avenue for making a lasting impact.


See also

* Internet.org *
Surveillance capitalism Surveillance capitalism is a concept in political economics which denotes the widespread collection and commodification of personal data by corporations. This phenomenon is distinct from government surveillance, though the two can reinforce each o ...
*
Zero-rating Zero-rating is the practice of providing Internet access without financial cost under certain conditions, such as by permitting access to only certain websites or by subsidizing the service with advertising or by exempting certain websites from ...


Notes and references

{{reflist * McLuhan, M. (1964) Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. * McPhail, T. (1981) Electronic Colonialism: The Future of International Broadcasting and Communication. Newbury Park: Sage. * McPhail, T. & McPhail, B. (1990) Communication: The Canadian Experience. Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman. * McPhail, T. (2002) Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. * McPhail, T. (2014) Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends. (4th ed.) London: Blackwell. * Raley, R. (2004) eEmpires. Cultural Critique, 57, 111–150. Colonialism