29 August 2025, NIICE Commentary 11647
Anaisha Tiwari
The world is currently experiencing a period of rapid development marked by an unprecedented transformation in the digital space, known as the digital revolution. This, in turn, has fundamentally changed how we conduct ourselves, including in education, healthcare, business, and social interaction. Digitalisation has played a significant role in how the economy runs with the use of digital technology to create, market, adapt and consume goods and services.
In the digital economy, digitised information and knowledge are the key factors of production. This has played a huge role in reshaping traditional economic structures and processes. It is marked by the emergence of a new global currency, i.e. data. Data is no longer a neutral byproduct of online activity, but it has evolved into a new form of currency. Raw data collected from individual behaviours, events, and products is processed into digital intelligence. Once aggregated and monetised, this data is transformed into "data products" that can be traded internationally. This gives data its economic value because it can be bought, sold, and traded.
In the wake of this era of digitisation, the global south has fallen behind in the digital revolution. Although we in the global south have experienced significant development in technology. This rapid digital advancement is marked by a data-related divide that has compounded the digital divide. The Global South holds a subordinate position, generating a large amount of data but having no control over it. It is concentrated in a few Western corporations that have unrestricted access, control and use of this data.
This imbalance is not incidental; it is systematic. It mirrors colonial structures where raw materials were extracted from colonised territory, processed in the imperial centre and commodified for global trade. Just as colonial power once commodified natural resources and indigenous knowledge, today’s digital empire commodifies data.
Digital Colonialism as a Governance Failure
The current mechanism for data governance is especially in the global south, is non-existent. There is no consolidated framework for data governance and accountability. The access of the global south in the way their data is collected, used, and monetised is limited. This creates a phenomenon described as data colonialism, where digital technologies are used to assert control. The presence of a governance vacuum allows the tech giant to act as an ungoverned authority, shaping society through algorithms, algorithmic influence, and surveillance without any mechanism for consent or accountability.
Data Sovereignty as a Governance Imperative
Against this backdrop, data sovereignty has emerged both as a resistance strategy and a normative demand for fairer global governance. Data sovereignty refers to the inherent rights of a community to have access to its data in terms of its collection and use. This largely involves communities' self-determination over their data. It refers to the understanding that data is subject to the law of the nation within which it is accessed. It enables nations to assert control over their digital resources.
Data sovereignty as a concept has emerged as a prominent concept in navigating the complexities of data governance as well as its increasing impact on everyday human life. At its core, it empowers communities and individuals to dictate the terms of data collection, usage and storage. It centres around the idea of control, which is crucial in resisting external dominance and safeguarding one's resources. It empowers the countries of the global south to reclaim their agency over their digital resources and challenge the lack of accountability and consent.
The New Zealand Maori Data sovereignty reflects a successful example of data sovereignty. It integrated culturally inclusive principles of CARE ( Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics), which emphasises communal and culturally appropriate use of data, allowing the collective authority of the community over their data.
Toward Collective Action: Building a South-South Framework for Data Sovereignty
Data sovereignty calls for a well-structured policy-making which will address the complexities of data privacy and security. A prominent example of a comprehensive data governance is the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR), which provides a comprehensive framework on safeguarding personal data, including the right to protect one’s data, the right to be forgotten and a comprehensive consent requirement based on individual autonomy and privacy. The GDPR highlights 7 core principles in terms of personal data and lawful data management, i.e. Lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, Data Minimisation, Accuracy, Storage limitations and Accountability. GDPR serves as a valuable reference point for regional cooperation in data governance.
The global south requires a comprehensive community-oriented data governance system and law that emphasises the communal and culturally appropriate use of data, which allows the collective authority of the community over their data. Data sovereignty is a cornerstone for a broader effort towards achieving decolonisation by empowering the community to manage and protect their digital resource. Regional cooperation is necessary in order to address data monopoly through a comprehensive regional data policy framework.
The views expressed here are the author's own.
