Keywords
digital colonialism, Bill C-11, consumer, Therrien, Indigenous subjectivity, decolonization
Abstract
Media scholars Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejias (2019) define digital colonialism as the “term for the extension of a global process of extraction that started under colonialism and continues through industrial capitalism, culminating in today's new form: instead of natural resources in labor, what is now being appropriated is human life through its conversion into data” (p. 22). This research will critically analyze the Canadian government’s ill-received Bill C-11: the Amended Consumer Privacy Protection Act by using digital colonialism as a conceptual framework to reveal the Bill’s essential limitations. It will consist of two sections: 1) an in-depth exploration of the definition of digital colonialism and Indigenous Subjectivity, which will inform the objective, and 2) an examination of amendment recommendations (7, 8, 11 and 15), put forth by the previous Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien to improve Bill C-11. By using digital colonial theory and applying it to a critical legislative case study, this research addresses the following questions: What is digital colonialism and how, from a digital colonial standpoint, can we critically unpack the recommended amendments proposed by Therrien?
Primary Advisor
Vincent Manzerolle
Program Reader
Kyle Asquith
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Communication, Media and Film
Document Type
Major Research Paper
Convocation Year
2023
Included in
Communications Law Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Consumer Protection Law Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Race Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Media Commons