Digital Colonialism and the Role of Local Intermediaries: Big Tech, Data Sovereignty and Human Rights in Africa

Abstract

This article explores digital colonialism in Africa, focusing on how Big Tech and local intermediaries perpetuate data exploitation, infrastructure dependency and algorithmic bias. Applying a Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) lens, it draws parallels between historical colonialism and the modern digital economy, highlighting persistent power imbalances in data control and tech sovereignty. Multinational firms from the Global North extract and monetise African data with little benefit to local communities, reinforcing dependency. Local actors (governments, tech elites and influencers) often enable this through policy gaps and cultural alignment with Western platforms. The article examines the impact on data sovereignty, human rights and economic autonomy, including risks of surveillance and silencing local voices. It calls for policy reforms, investment in African tech ecosystems, digital literacy and robust regional regulation. Ultimately, it advocates for digital justice and self-governance to reclaim Africa’s digital future.

The authors' own abstract, copied from cambridge.org.

How to cite it

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Effoduh, J. O. (2025). Digital Colonialism and the Role of Local Intermediaries: Big Tech, Data Sovereignty and Human Rights in Africa. Business and Human Rights Journal. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/635F708D2C0E9D5832593A7366BCC6C9/S2057019825100217a.pdf/digital_colonialism_and_the_role_of_local_intermediaries_examining_big_techs_impact_on_data_sovereignty_and_human_rights_in_africa.pdf

Effoduh, Jake Okechukwu. "Digital Colonialism and the Role of Local Intermediaries: Big Tech, Data Sovereignty and Human Rights in Africa." Business and Human Rights Journal, 2025, https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/635F708D2C0E9D5832593A7366BCC6C9/S2057019825100217a.pdf/digital_colonialism_and_the_role_of_local_intermediaries_examining_big_techs_impact_on_data_sovereignty_and_human_rights_in_africa.pdf.

@article{effoduh2025digital,
  title = {Digital Colonialism and the Role of Local Intermediaries: Big Tech, Data Sovereignty and Human Rights in Africa},
  author = {Jake Okechukwu Effoduh},
  journal = {Business and Human Rights Journal},
  year = {2025},
  url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/635F708D2C0E9D5832593A7366BCC6C9/S2057019825100217a.pdf/digital_colonialism_and_the_role_of_local_intermediaries_examining_big_techs_impact_on_data_sovereignty_and_human_rights_in_africa.pdf},
}

What it is

An open-access scholarly article in the Business and Human Rights Journal (2025) by Jake Okechukwu Effoduh of Toronto Metropolitan University. It examines how Big Tech firms and local intermediaries perpetuate data exploitation, infrastructure dependency and algorithmic bias in Africa, drawing parallels between historical colonialism and the modern digital economy.

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