Data sovereignty in the cloud: How extractive tech infrastructures erode collective autonomy and what systemic accountability looks like
Original framing: “After you upload your data to the cloud, where does it go? The challenge of dual-use technologies” — The Conversation - Global
Scientific literature on cloud infrastructures reveals their inherent extractive design: data centers consume 1-1.5% of global electricity, with e-waste and water usage disproportionately impacting marginalized communities. Studies show that 'dual-use' tech (e.g., facial recognition, predictive policing) entrenches systemic biases, as seen in the over-policing of Indigenous and Black communities. The lack of transparent data provenance in cloud systems makes accountability impossible, a gap highlighted by research on algorithmic accountability.
The cloud is not a neutral infrastructure but a colonial machine, designed to extract, commodify, and control data while obscuring its material and cultural violence.
Indigenous data sovereignty frameworks—rooted in relational accountability—offer a direct challenge to this extractive logic, but they are systematically excluded from policy debates that frame data as a private good. The historical continuity with resource colonialism is undeniable: just as land and water were enclosed, data is now being enclosed by Silicon Valley and its state allies. Yet, marginalized communities are not passive victims; they are redefining sovereignty through art, activism, and alternative infrastructures. The path forward requires dismantling the tech oligarchy’s monopoly on data governance, replacing it with models that center collective rights, cultural integrity, and ecological sustainability. This is not just a technical fix but a decolonial project, where the 'cloud' is reimagined as a commons, not a commodity.