- Research by; Oladiran Kehinde Mary
In today’s interconnected world, digital technology has become a central force shaping economies, governance, and human interaction. Yet beneath the promise of global connectivity lies a growing imbalance of power that mirrors the colonial past. This study explores digital colonialism how multinational technology corporations, often referred to as Big Tech, dominate the digital infrastructures, data, and online spaces of the Global South. Through this dominance, companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple extract vast amounts of user data and economic value from developing nations while offering limited opportunities for local participation or ownership.
The study adopts a qualitative and analytical approach, drawing on secondary data from academic sources, policy papers, and international reports. It applies Dependency Theory and Postcolonial Theory to explain how technological dependence reinforces global inequality in new digital forms. Findings reveal that digital colonialism not only undermines the economic independence of developing nations but also threatens their cultural identity, data privacy, and political sovereignty.
Ultimately, the research calls for urgent action toward digital sovereignty policies that empower nations to protect their data, build local digital infrastructure, and ensure fair participation in the global digital economy. By exposing how colonial structures have re-emerged in cyberspace, this study challenges us to rethink power, justice, and freedom in the digital age.
Introduction
In the 21st century, power is no longer measured by land, oil, or gold it is measured by data. Digital technology has become the backbone of global communication, trade, and governance. Yet behind the illusion of a connected world lies a deep imbalance of control that mirrors the old colonial order. Scholars and activists now describe this phenomenon as digital colonialism.
Digital colonialism refers to a modern form of imperialism in which global technology giants mostly based in the Global North dominate the digital infrastructure, data, and online ecosystems of the Global South. Companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple control not only how information flows but also who profits from it. Just as colonial powers once extracted raw materials from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, these corporations now extract data the new “digital gold” often without fair compensation or local ownership.
While digital technology is praised for driving global progress, it has also deepened inequality and dependence. Many developing nations rely on foreign-owned platforms and servers, leaving them with little control over their digital assets. This dependency affects privacy, innovation, and even national sovereignty. The Global South, once exploited for physical resources, now faces exploitation of its digital resources.
This research examines how Big Tech’s dominance represents a new form of colonial control. It explores the mechanisms through which these corporations shape communication, economies, and governance in the Global South and how developing nations can reclaim autonomy through digital sovereignty.
In essence, this study reveals that colonialism has evolved not through soldiers and ships, but through servers and software. It challenges us to redefine what freedom and independence mean in the digital age.
Understanding Digital Colonialism
Digital colonialism is the new face of global control. It describes how powerful technology companies mostly from the United States and Europe dominate the digital lives of people worldwide, especially in developing regions. Unlike traditional colonialism, control today is exercised not through armies, but through technology, data, and digital infrastructure.
Just as past colonial powers seized land and natural resources, today’s digital empires control data and information the most valuable resources of the modern era. Companies like Google, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Amazon, and Apple own the platforms, cloud services, and networks that billions depend on daily.
For countries in the Global South, this means their online activities from communication to governance rely on systems owned abroad. Every click, message, and search produces data that is stored and monetized outside their borders. This creates a new kind of dependence, where the tools of connection have become tools of control.
Digital colonialism raises profound questions about power, privacy, and sovereignty in a world increasingly ruled by data.
The Global South and Digital Dependence
Countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America are more digitally connected than ever yet this connection often hides a dangerous dependence. Because many developing nations lack strong local tech industries, they rely heavily on platforms like Google, Meta, and Amazon for communication, education, business, and even governance.
As a result, enormous amounts of personal and national data are stored on foreign servers and governed by foreign laws. While these tools bring convenience, they also weaken local innovation and reduce national control over technology. Profits and power continue to flow to the same global centers that benefited during colonial times.
In short, the Global South is “online but not in control.” Digital dependence has replaced economic dependence, and the new struggle for independence is about data ownership and digital sovereignty.
Literature Review
Dependency Theory, developed by thinkers like Andre Gunder Frank, Raúl Prebisch, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, argues that the global economy is structured to benefit wealthy nations at the expense of poorer ones. The world is divided into a “core” (industrialized nations) and a “periphery” (developing nations). The core extracts value historically through raw materials, and today through data from the periphery.
In the digital era, Big Tech companies act as the “core,” controlling infrastructure and software that the Global South depends on. Instead of resources, data has become the new raw material fueling inequality.
Postcolonial Theory, advanced by scholars such as Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak, explains how colonial domination continues through culture, knowledge, and global systems. Even after political independence, former colonial powers still shape how the world thinks and communicates.
Today, this influence manifests digitally. Big Tech platforms from the West control what information is visible, whose voices are amplified, and how people interact online. The result is a digital order that mirrors the colonial one developing nations provide data and engagement, while the profits and decision-making remain in the hands of a few powerful countries.
Together, these two theories reveal the economic and cultural dimensions of digital colonialism. The struggle for independence has moved from territory to technology, and the new challenge is achieving digital freedom and self-reliance.
Real-World Examples
Digital colonialism is not abstract it’s visible in daily life across the Global South.
One striking example is Facebook’s “Free Basics” program, introduced in several African and Asian countries. It promised free internet access but only to websites approved by Facebook. Millions of first-time internet users could only experience the web through Facebook’s limited ecosystem raising concerns about manipulation and control.
Another case is Google’s dominance in search, advertising, and cloud services. In many countries, even government and business data are hosted on Google’s servers abroad. Similarly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) manages massive amounts of data for African and Asian institutions.
Popular platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and X (Twitter) all foreign-owned control how billions communicate and even shape political and cultural narratives.
These examples reveal that while technology connects, it also concentrates power. The Global South, though rich in users and data, remains largely excluded from the benefits a clear echo of the colonial past.
Consequences of Digital Colonialism
The consequences of digital colonialism go far beyond technology they affect national security, economies, and social identity.
Loss of Data Control: Most developing nations do not own or manage their citizens’ data. It’s stored abroad, giving Big Tech access to sensitive information.
Economic Exploitation: Every time users in the Global South go online, data and profits flow northward. The users provide the raw material data while corporations reap the wealth.
Cultural and Political Influence: Western platforms decide which content trends, shaping global narratives and marginalizing local voices.
Stifled Innovation: Local entrepreneurs struggle to compete in systems dominated by global giants.
In short, digital colonialism reinforces dependence and limits the Global South’s ability to shape its technological destiny. True progress demands digital independence where nations own their data, nurture local innovation, and ensure that technology serves their people, not foreign profit.
What Can Be Done (The Way Forward and Conclusion)
If digital colonialism is the new form of control, then digital freedom must become the new form of independence.
Invest in local technology and innovation: Governments must support startups and develop local infrastructure to reduce reliance on foreign corporations.
Strengthen data protection laws: Nations should safeguard citizens’ data and ensure it is stored and managed locally.
Promote digital education: A tech-literate population can use, build, and secure its own digital tools.
Encourage regional cooperation: Countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America can unite to negotiate fairer digital agreements and share digital resources.
Ensure corporate accountability: Big Tech must be held to global standards of transparency, ethics, and fair digital trade.
In conclusion, digital colonialism shows that old patterns of control persist in new forms. The Global South’s true independence will no longer be defined by political or economic autonomy alone, but by digital sovereignty the power to own, protect, and shape its digital future.
The goal is not to reject technology but to reclaim it. The future belongs to those who can control their data, build their tools, and tell their own stories in the digital world.
