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Short abstract:

This paper seeks to understand what mobilizes data publics to go against Big-Tech companies. We selected key digital rights practitioners to understand from them what has been their experience in working with people to change the power asymmetries we have with Big-Tech companies.

Long abstract:

This paper seeks to understand what mobilizes data publics to go against Big-Tech companies. We selected key digital rights practitioners to understand their experience in working with people to change the power asymmetries we have with Big-Tech companies. From the semi-structured interviews four themes emerged: first, the importance of contextual awareness about the way(s) data can be used and abused in their everyday life context. Second, distinguishing between real or imagined concerns around data and how that can inform and push people into action. Third, identifying who is responsible for these problems so that people know who to demand accountability and scrutiny from. And fourth, thinking and imagining resistance possibilities.

Following from the findings we identified five possible routes that can enhance citizens’ data citizenship’ (Carmi & Yates, 2023), by finding what each actor can provide:1. Governments - providing robust legislation and enforcement; 2. Big-Tech - providing transparent policies, developing user-friendly policies and support mechanisms; 3. Media raising awareness about everyday contexts of harms and risks of different communities; 4. NGOs - raising awareness, help develop negotiating power for society; 5. Society - Using existing mechanisms such as Citizens Advice, using alternatives, using networks of literacy for data literacy.

Importantly, we found it was difficult for the NGO practitioners to imagine how an ‘ideal world’ would look like. We argue that once we can imagine and verbalize how we want our data-driven future to look like, it will be easier to start to pro-actively strategize and work towards it.