The concept of data colonization by N. Сouldry and U. Mejias: content and methodological foundations

The analysis focuses on the theoretical and methodological foundations of the data colonialism concept authored by Nick Couldry and Ulises A. Mejias. It offers an interpretation of the large-scale transformations of modern social life taking place in connection with the widespread use of information and communication technologies and the extraction of user data in the Internet environment. Methodology includes several analytical traditions of social knowledge. Using the comparative historical method, the authors trace the features of historical colonialism over a long period. The key to this is the idea of the colonial-capitalist spiral. According to it, capitalism was not possible without the material benefits obtained because of the colonial seizures. Authors argued that the practices of appropriation and exploitation of world resources, which are the basis of colonialism, find their manifestation in a new form nowadays. Developing the concept of data colonialism, the authors conclude that technology companies through the seizure of human life carry out extraction of new resources. This is because the wealth of manifestations of people's lives are transformed through the use of technologies into abstract patterns of behavior on the web, ready for use in the market operations of digital platforms. Based on the Marxist tradition of analysis, in particular, the concept of alienation of labor, it is shown that in the conditions of data capitalism, business expansion occurs due to sources that are not directly production activities, i.e. indirect sources of exploitation. These include a variety of data about user behavior on the web. At the same time, it brings the formation social relations in connection with data, characterized by a strict power asymmetry between owners and users. Data colonialism is a source of new forms of social and economic inequality. The combination of cognitive capabilities of postcolonial theory and a functional approach allows the authors to consider the content of the main strategies of colonial management in the context of data capitalism: explore, expand, exploit, exterminate. Following the logic of comparative historical analysis, the authors study the legitimization of colonial practices regarding historical and digital colonialism. Authors apply narrative analysis involves studying messages based on their narrative structure. The authors identify and analyze the techniques of leading modern narratives that define power dominance. According to the concept, data capitalism creates toxic conditions for the life of society, since the minimal integrity of human life is at risk. Authors place emphasis on the need for decolonization – countering the emerging social order based on an attempt to colonize new resources in the interests of global elites.

capitalism, colonialism, data, internet, digital platforms, alienation, media-institutions, privacy, personal data