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Paper short abstract

The paper challenges the concept of data sovereignty. Sovereignty, property, and autonomy rely on logics of absolute control that ignore relationality and dependency. Instead, it proposes data care and data solidarity as emancipatory alternatives.

Paper long abstract

Data sovereignty is often suggested as a solution to data extraction and exploitation. Here, I will demonstrate how the structure of data can help us envision futures beyond sovereignty. Sovereignty, property, and autonomy are interrelated concepts that strive for full disposal and are rooted in philosophical cultures that disregard relationality, dependencies, and care. By examining relationality and performativity more closely, I will show how ideals of data sovereignty must remain phantom-like and are haunted by their violent history. In my paper, I will first briefly introduce the entangled nature of sovereignty, autonomy, and property. This conceptual framework will then allow me to analyze how the relational and performative structure of data withdraws sovereignty. Third, I will argue that data care and data solidarity are concepts that better align with emancipatory critiques of data extractivism, exploitation, and the all-encompassing power of Big Tech without reproducing the absolute disposal logic rooted in liberalism. By focusing on relationality and care, we can envision imaginaries that go beyond mere reactions to Big Tech's power.