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This webinar was hosted by the Competence Center for African Research (CCAR) at the Institute for Business Ethics, University of St. Gallen

Webinar on Digital Transformation, Data Justice, and the Responsibility of Tech-companies: A Perspective from the Global South

The social, economic, and political life of the global community has become increasingly reliant on digital technologies. Data-driven technologies mediate areas as diverse as the provision of welfare, security, production industries, financial services and education. Digital transformation and the push towards filling the digital divide are at the fore front of the global agenda.

But, what does this mean to the African continent and the Global South in general?

The African continent, mainly Sub-Saharan Africa, seems to place significant hope in the redemptive power of digitalization. The use and deployment of digital technologies is booming in the private and public sectors including, but not limited to, the provision of different public services, such as healthcare, banking and finance, elections, and security. Tech start-ups are flourishing in almost all corners of the continent such as ‘Silicon Cape’ in Cape Town, ‘Silicon Savannah’ in Nairobi, ‘Sheba Valley’ in Addis Ababa, and ‘Yabacon Valley’ in Lagos. These initiatives are led and supported by technologists and financial institutions within and outside the continent, with a promise to “solve” the complex socio-economic and political problems that the continent grapples with.

Further, the growing use and dependence on digital platforms such as social media in the region triggers critical questions related to data protection. Currently, 81% of Africa’s population accesses mobile connectivity, while only 34% of its population are internet users. Among these users, 16% of the population are active social media users. All of these digital transactions and online activities generate data. When big tech-companies provide “free” internet and digital social connectivity through online platforms, it is important to pose critical questions, such as: At what cost does the “freely” available connectivity come – is it at the cost of privacy invasion, or commodification of users’ experience and behavior? How are these data regulated and used? And what is the obligation of governments and tech companies? For instance, on data protection and privacy regulation, only 50% (27 countries) of 54 African countries have legislation, with the remaining 24% having no legislation at all and 17% having draft legislation on the topic. Such a regulatory vacuum creates the space for incidents such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal to occur, due to the large databases of personal information that these digital platforms amass. Besides, it is important to ask what happens when Western tech companies with Silicon Valley thinking and business models, as well as tech industries from the East, mainly China, encounter a culturally different and poorly regulated “data market” in the African continent.

With this backdrop, the webinar seeks to bring together scholarly voices from the Global South and other scholars researching the topics of digital transformation, data justice and the responsibility of the tech-industry. More precisely, the webinar invites critical discussions on topics related to the risks posed by the digital ecosystem from a Global South perspective and examines how to mitigate such risks.

Aim

The aim of this webinar is to initiate and promote critical thinking as well as interdisciplinary conversations on and around the meaning and ethics of digital transformation, data justice and the responsibility of tech companies. In doing so it intends to pool together perspectives from the Global South on the topic, with particular focus on Sub-Sharan Africa.

CONTACT

Dr. Kebene Kejela Wodajo

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