SCC 26

The birth of the internet was celebrated as a miracle — a technology that would flatten hierarchy and put Dresden and Delhi a split second apart. Connection, we were told, was the same thing as liberation. It wasn't. We built a digital architecture that perfectly mimics the extractive mechanics of historical colonialism.

The talk looks at India with nearly a billion internet users, India is the lifeblood of platforms like YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Yet, this massive user base has not translated into digital sovereignty. Instead, India has become the world’s premier "Daily Active User" farm. Like the British East India Company—which conquered by co-opting elites and locking in infrastructure—Big Tech operates identically. Terms of Service act as de-facto global laws, while Indian state governments are building critical public infrastructure, ensuring a generational lock-in. This story repeats everywhere in the Global South.

What's worse, the Indian state frequently colludes with or capitulates to Big Tech platforms, while simultaneously stifling domestic competition unless it gives in. When the state does flex its muscle, it isn't against Big Tech monopolies; it's to enact nearly 900 internet shutdowns in the last 10 years or leading the charts in content removal notices to online platforms. India has arrested thousands of activists, journalists, comedians in the last few years for what they posted online.

At this point it would be reasonable to conclude there is no way out—that this is what networked technology evolves to become. This feeling is precisely the myth of technological inevitability. Big Tech fiercely pushes the inevitability of only one version of future, their version of future. This narrative is much like a fog over our collective imagination. This is also a voter suppression tactic: if you convince people that a silicon valley dystopia is the only possible future, they stop showing up to fight for an alternative.

We are not anti-technology. We are against using technology as a means of oppression. This talk aims to start a discussion to break the illusion of inevitability and build a path toward a true digital commons.
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Das Internet wurde als befreiende Kraft gefeiert, doch es reproduziert koloniale Machtstrukturen. Obwohl Indien viele Nutzer hat, bleibt es Lieferant für Plattformökonomien: „Terms of Service“ wirken wie Gesetze, staatliche Kontrolle schafft Lock-in. Zusammenarbeit von Staat und Tech, zugleich Shutdowns und Zensur. Technologische „Unvermeidlichkeit“ verhindert Widerstand. Ziel: Technologie gegen Unterdrückung nutzen und einen digitalen Commons-Weg öffnen.