In this episode of Spark, Democratizing Data, Nora Young (2021) investigates how big tech steals our data, and uses it for their own good. In fact, as Young points out, we are almost paying twice for our data: first by giving them our data when we use their platforms, and then how the data will inform the market about our spending habits (Young, 2021, 15:25).
What drew my attention to this episode was not just the data grabs, but the influence big data has on Indigenous peoples; or might I say, the lack of reciprocity with what is taken (sound familiar?). One guest, author Jer Thorp speaks of the moral obligation of tech companies to talk to the Indigenous communities that they take data from, much like Ginsburg (2008) speak of the significance of the data staying within the community (Young, 2021, 22:45). Furthermore, Thorpe likens the data mining to the land grabs of colonialism (Young, 2021, 50:40). Finally, Branka Panic echos this idea of data collection and the new colonialism, and the importance of Indigenous communities gaining control over their data by saying, “…we see this very important trend in Canada and the U.S. with Indigenous communities, and making sure we have this data sovereignty being given back to people themselves” (Young, 2021, 50:49). I will be looking at data sovereignty in my final project.
Reference
Ginsburg, F. (2008). Rethinking the digital age. In Global Indigenous Media, P. Wilson & M Stewart, Eds., pp. 287-306. doi 10.2307/j.ctv11cw78p.19
Young, N. (Host). (2021, May 2). Democratizing data. [Audio podcast episode]. In Spark. CBC.