”And so, we are left to ask – what can we actually do about this? And what mobilises people to act against big-tech?” (Carmi & Nakou, 2023 p.3)
Carmi & Nakou (2023) conducted interviews with digital rights and literacy organisations to discover what mobilises citizens to challenge big tech companies. They identify five actors, including governments, big tech, media, NGOs and society who can participate in collective mobilisation to enact social and political change.
The role of the media, for example, cannot be underestimated, when the dystopian television show Black Mirror aired the episode titled, ‘Joan is Awful’ in which a woman’s life was filmed and recreated because she did not read the terms and conditions, there was a rise in discussion on social media around this transparency issue (Carmi & Nakou, 2023).
The image below is an example of a conversation on YouTube about the Black Box episode that ignited online debate. I thought it was interesting that they are discussing how people could be more empowered as digital consumers if they only united.
Video comments from YouTube clip BLACK MIRROR Season 6 Joan Is Awful REACTION! Episode 1 Review, Recap, Breakdown, & Ending Explained (youtube.com)
Media can play an important role by telling engaging stories and universities can take advantage of these stories to increase interest and student participation in seeking more transparency.
Zemblyas (2021) discusses strategies for undoing the ethics of digital neo-colonialism through building solidarity with affected communities, engaging in dialogue across disciplines and community groups. This should involve recognition of negative implications on marginalised people as well as taking action, fully participating and contributing to the development of digital technology.
It is the role of HE to help students imagine what they would like their data-driven future to look like and to begin pro-actively working towards it.
The image above shows a black and a white hand with the fingers entwined together to form one. It represents the joining of individuals and communities to enact their desired digital futures.
Featured Image: All photos and videos on Pexels can be downloaded and used freely. two hands entwined
The following quote is an extract from an interview in the report ‘What Mobilises People Against Big-Tech?’ in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with digital rights and digital literacies organisations.
”I don’t know anything about the water that comes out of my tap, right? but I trust it to be clean, and I trust it that there will be people who look after me to make that the case, and I feel like…there ought to be trusted bodies who will take care of us, and the idea that because it’s a consumer market largely, we have to do it ourselves is, I think, the reason that nothing ever really changes.” (Carmi & Nakou, 2023, p.17)
The image shows a hand holding a glass over a tap as it is filled with clean water.
Featured Image: All photos and videos on Pexels can be downloaded and used freely. hand holding glass of tap water
The analogy is a revealing insight into how educators and students make assumptions about our safety online and begs the question:
Activity 7 Who should be responsible for protecting the rights of digital citizens?
You can see the recommendations highlighted on p.23 for each of the actors identified in the 2023 report – what mobilises people against big tech?
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution
Activity 8 Go to the padlet or use the QR code below and share suggestions about how you could incorporate collective mobilisation in your educational setting. What challenges could you face?
References
Carmi, E. & Nakou, P. (2023). What Mobilises People Against Big-Tech?. [online] London, UK: City, University of London. Available at: 2023 report – what mobilises people against big tech.pdf (city.ac.uk). (Accessed: 11 October 2023).
Zembylas, M. (2023). A decolonial approach to AI in higher education teaching and learning: strategies for undoing the ethics of digital neocolonialism, Learning, Media and Technology, 48:1, 25-37, Available at: A decolonial approach to AI in HE teaching and learning (Accessed 29 October 2023).
The final section #6. Radical Possibilities will imagine a hopeful future. 6. Radical Possibilities
