11. Uluslararası İletişim Günleri / Dijital Eşitsizlik ve Veri Sömürgeciliği Sempozyumu Değerlendirmesi

Year 2025, Issue: 15, 352 - 359, 30.04.2025

Yezdan Çelebi

https://doi.org/10.32739/etkilesim.2025.8.15.296

Abstract

In the digital age, while technological advancements offer numerous benefits, they also bring challenges that must be addressed, one of the most critical being digital inequality. The rapid expansion of digital technologies has not only reshaped communication and access to information but has also deepened existing social and economic disparities. As capitalism thrives on inequality, it continuously reconstructs these divisions in the digital sphere, making access to data, technology, and digital literacy privileges rather than universal rights. This growing gap reinforces a system where technological and economic power is concentrated in the hands of a few, further marginalizing those without the necessary resources to participate in the digital world. Consequently, digital inequality not only limits opportunities for individuals and communities but also strengthens “data colonialism”, enabling dominant global powers to exploit digital resources for their economic and political interests. As Foucault stated, power cannot be exercised without knowledge (Foucault, 1980, p. 52); in this context, data colonialism reinforces global power structures by collecting and controlling digital data, while threatening individual freedom and privacy.

11th International Communication Days / Digital Inequality and Data Colonialism Symposium Evaluation

Abstract

In the digital age, while technological advancements offer numerous benefits, they also bring challenges that must be addressed, one of the most critical being digital inequality. The rapid expansion of digital technologies has not only reshaped communication and access to information but has also deepened existing social and economic disparities. As capitalism thrives on inequality, it continuously reconstructs these divisions in the digital sphere, making access to data, technology, and digital literacy privileges rather than universal rights. This growing gap reinforces a system where technological and economic power is concentrated in the hands of a few, further marginalizing those without the necessary resources to participate in the digital world. Consequently, digital inequality not only limits opportunities for individuals and communities but also strengthens “data colonialism”, enabling dominant global powers to exploit digital resources for their economic and political interests. As Foucault stated, power cannot be exercised without knowledge (Foucault, 1980, p. 52); in this context, data colonialism reinforces global power structures by collecting and controlling digital data, while threatening individual freedom and privacy.

Keywords

11th INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION DAYS , DIGITAL INEQUALITY AND DATA COLONIALISM SYMPOSIUM , IFIG 2024

References

• Foucault (1980) Colin Gordon (Ed.), in Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings by Michel Foucault, 1972-77 (pp. 37-54). Pantheons Books.
• IFIG (2024). The 11th International Communication Days Digital Inequality & Data Colonialism Symposium. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://ifig.uskudar.edu.tr/en/2024