DIGITAL COLONIALISM: CONSIDERATIONS OF ONE CONTEMPORARY DEPENDENCE

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze digital colonialism as a new form of imperialism that uses countries from the Global South in its practices through new technologies, taking possession not only of available labor and mineral resources; but also personal data in search of value creation. Within the development of primitive data accumulation and the phenomenon of digital commodification, such companies make the development of their own technologies unfeasible through methods that prevent any competition. Analyzing the case of the limitations imposed by Google on the storage of “Google Workspace for Education” in Brazilian Universities from 2021 onwards, we will try to elucidate the national dependence on global technology platforms even in environments where theoretically there should be the development of new practices and possibilities. The contribution of Deivison Faustino and Walter Lippold in the work “Digital colonialism – For a hacker-Fanonian critique” will set the tone to elucidate new colonial relations and substantiate the need for technological development combined with revolutionary praxis to spark critical thinking and new and effective independence.