Liviu Poenaru, Dec. 28, 2024

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In Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back, Ulises A. Mejias and Nick Couldry deliver a bold and meticulously researched critique of Big Tech's pervasive reach into our lives. The book convincingly frames the practices of companies like Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet as a continuation of colonial exploitation, exposing how these tech giants extract personal data with the same systemic ruthlessness that colonial powers once used to seize land and resources. This parallel between historical colonialism and today’s data-driven capitalism provides a fresh and urgently needed lens to understand the inequalities and harms perpetuated by the digital economy.

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The central argument of the book is both simple and profound: the vast accumulation of data by Big Tech companies mirrors the extractive logics of colonialism. Mejias and Couldry meticulously unpack how the personal data collected through emails, social media interactions, shopping habits, and even our movements are harvested as raw material to create immense corporate wealth. This process, which they term "data colonialism," is not an incidental feature of modern technology but a deliberate strategy that fundamentally reconfigures the relationship between individuals and power. Just as colonialism reshaped the world’s economies, societies, and ecologies, data colonialism is transforming our present and future by creating new forms of inequality and control.

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One of the book’s most striking contributions is its historical perspective. Mejias and Couldry draw compelling parallels between the land grabs of European colonial powers and the data grabs of contemporary tech corporations. They recount how colonial powers used tools like the telegraph to expand and consolidate control, arguing that today’s Big Tech companies deploy digital tools for similar ends. This historical framing is not only insightful but deeply unsettling, as it challenges the notion of technological progress as inherently beneficial. The authors show that what is often celebrated as innovation and efficiency is, in fact, a rebranding of old strategies of domination, repurposed for the digital age.

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The authors also delve into the far-reaching consequences of data colonialism. Beyond the immediate invasion of privacy, Mejias and Couldry highlight how the extraction of personal data exacerbates global inequalities. The wealth generated from data extraction is overwhelmingly concentrated in the Global North, while the labor and resources required to sustain these technologies disproportionately burden the Global South. The environmental costs of data centers, the precarity of gig economy workers, and the discriminatory biases embedded in algorithms all point to a system that perpetuates and deepens existing injustices. This analysis is sobering, as it reveals how Big Tech’s business model is not only exploitative but also fundamentally unsustainable.

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Another strength of Data Grab lies in its ability to bridge the personal and the systemic. Mejias and Couldry illustrate how Big Tech’s practices impact individual lives in deeply intimate ways, from targeted advertising based on health data to the manipulation of political opinions through algorithmic profiling. At the same time, they connect these individual experiences to broader systemic issues, such as the erosion of democracy, the commodification of human creativity, and the loss of collective agency. This dual focus ensures that readers grasp the full scope of the problem, understanding how their own experiences are part of a much larger and more troubling story.

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A particularly powerful section of the book addresses the civilizing narrative that often accompanies technological innovation. Mejias and Couldry critique the myth of technological neutrality, showing how Big Tech frames its products as tools for connection, empowerment, and progress while obscuring their exploitative underpinnings. This narrative, the authors argue, mirrors the "civilizing missions" of colonial powers, which justified their actions by claiming to bring modernity and enlightenment to supposedly backward societies. By exposing this rhetoric, the book invites readers to question the assumptions and ideologies that underpin our relationship with technology.

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Importantly, Data Grab is not merely a critique; it is also a call to action. Mejias and Couldry emphasize that resistance is both possible and necessary. Drawing on historical examples of anti-colonial movements and contemporary activism, they outline strategies for challenging the power of Big Tech. These include advocating for stronger data privacy laws, supporting grassroots movements that resist exploitative technologies, and fostering alternative models of digital engagement that prioritize community over profit. The authors also highlight the importance of collective action, arguing that only through solidarity can individuals and communities reclaim agency in a world dominated by data colonialism.

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Despite its many strengths, the book does present certain challenges for readers. The scale and complexity of the issues it addresses can feel overwhelming, especially when paired with the urgency of its tone. While Mejias and Couldry offer pathways for resistance, these solutions are often conceptual rather than practical, leaving readers to grapple with how to translate them into action. However, this is less a flaw of the book and more a reflection of the enormity of the problem it seeks to address. By framing the fight against data colonialism as a long-term struggle, the authors acknowledge the need for sustained effort and systemic change.

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What sets Data Grab apart from other critiques of Big Tech is its interdisciplinary approach. Mejias and Couldry draw on insights from media studies, sociology, history, political economy, and critical theory to build a multifaceted argument that appeals to scholars, activists, and general readers alike. Their writing is accessible yet rigorous, blending academic analysis with vivid storytelling to engage a wide audience. The historical anecdotes, in particular, are both illuminating and thought-provoking, grounding the book’s theoretical claims in concrete examples.

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While Data Grab offers a robust critique of Big Tech's exploitative practices, one of its weaker points lies in its exploration—or lack thereof—of the psychological toll that data colonialism imposes on society. The book effectively outlines the systemic consequences of data extraction, such as inequality, precarity, and surveillance, but it stops short of delving deeply into the societal and mental health repercussions of living under constant digital scrutiny. The stress induced by surveillance capitalism, the erosion of privacy, and the manipulation of emotions through targeted algorithms have significant mental health implications, including anxiety, depression, and a pervasive sense of alienation. By not engaging more thoroughly with how these dynamics affect individual and collective well-being, the book misses an opportunity to expand its critique into the psychological realm. This omission leaves a gap in its otherwise comprehensive analysis, as the mental health crisis fueled by digital technologies is an increasingly urgent dimension of the broader societal impact of data colonialism.

 

Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back is a deeply important work. Mejias and Couldry offer a searing critique of Big Tech’s extractive practices while providing a framework for understanding and resisting the systemic injustices they perpetuate. By linking the past to the present, they challenge readers to see beyond the conveniences of modern technology and confront the structural inequalities that underpin it. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about privacy, justice, and the future of democracy in the digital age. It is a powerful reminder that the fight against data colonialism is not just a battle for individual rights but a struggle for a more equitable and sustainable world.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Ulises A. Mejias is professor of communication studies at the State University of New York at Oswego and the coauthor of The Costs of Connection: How Data Is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating It for Capitalism.

Nick Couldry is professor of media, communications, and social theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science and faculty associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. He is the coauthor of The Costs of Connection: How Data Is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating It for Capitalism.

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