https://en.sputniknews.africa/20260526/unprotected-and-uncompensated-how-tech-giants-profit-from-exploiting-africas-data-1086094219.html
Unprotected and Uncompensated: How Tech Giants Profit From Exploiting Africa's Data
Unprotected and Uncompensated: How Tech Giants Profit From Exploiting Africa's Data
Sputnik Africa
Africa hosts one of the world's fastest-growing digital populations. Several Western multinational tech corporations extract billions in value from digital... 26.05.2026, Sputnik Africa
2026-05-26T18:11+0200
2026-05-26T18:11+0200
2026-05-26T18:11+0200
african currents
podcasts
sputnik africa
africa
central africa
north africa
west africa
east africa
southern africa
data
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07ea/05/1a/1086097260_0:88:400:313_1920x0_80_0_0_eaabcb3cf89c9b4c7302a277448d6701.jpg
Unprotected and Uncompensated: How Tech Giants Profit From Exploiting Africa's Data
Sputnik Africa
Africa hosts one of the world's fastest-growing digital populations. Several Western multinational tech corporations extract billions in value from digital activities of the continent's internet users, leaving them with negligible data protection or financial compensation. Critics call this extractive pattern "data colonialism."
Tech giants reported combined revenues exceeding $1.2 trillion across 2023, much of it driven by data-intensive digital services linked to global user activity, including Africa’s rapidly expanding online population. Analysts estimate that 85 to 95 percent of African data is stored or processed outside the continent, raising concerns about exposure to foreign legal regimes and potential tensions with privacy protections outlined in Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Data governance specialists describe a widening gap between formal data protection laws and their enforcement across African jurisdictions. Critics argue it risks locking African economies into a system where raw data is exported while high-value artificial intelligence products are imported at significant cost. Digital rights advocates are urging governments to strengthen data sovereignty frameworks as Africa’s internet user base, estimated at more than 600 million, continues to expand.African Currents interviewed Paschal Ogana, Founder & Lead Director, Cybersecurity Intelligence Unit, Abuja, Nigeria, about parallels between historical colonialism and Western tech companies extracting African data and resources while limiting Africa’s role in AI development and profit-sharing. He contends that Africa risks long-term economic dependency if it fails to treat data sovereignty as a strategic priority rather than a technical issue and urged investment in African-owned digital infrastructure, AI research, and cybersecurity, alongside efforts to empower young Africans as creators rather than passive users in the digital economy.Catch the full discussion on the African Currents podcast, presented by Sputnik Africa.Listen to this episode on our website or Telegram.► You can also stream the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict.► Subscribe to and explore all the episodes of African Currents.
africa
central africa
north africa
west africa
east africa
southern africa
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2026
Chimauchem Nwosu
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/06/0b/1066992175_0:0:278:278_100x100_80_0_0_b5f6eaa3b85dbfcd0266ea860848a996.jpg
Chimauchem Nwosu
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/06/0b/1066992175_0:0:278:278_100x100_80_0_0_b5f6eaa3b85dbfcd0266ea860848a996.jpg
News
en_EN
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Chimauchem Nwosu
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/06/0b/1066992175_0:0:278:278_100x100_80_0_0_b5f6eaa3b85dbfcd0266ea860848a996.jpg
podcasts, sputnik africa, africa, central africa, north africa, west africa, east africa, southern africa, data, resources, artificial intelligence (ai), neocolonialism, colonialism, technology, information and communication technology, digital technology , аудио
podcasts, sputnik africa, africa, central africa, north africa, west africa, east africa, southern africa, data, resources, artificial intelligence (ai), neocolonialism, colonialism, technology, information and communication technology, digital technology , аудио
Unprotected and Uncompensated: How Tech Giants Profit From Exploiting Africa's Data
Africa hosts one of the world's fastest-growing digital populations. Several Western multinational tech corporations extract billions in value from digital activities of the continent's internet users, leaving them with negligible data protection or financial compensation. Critics call this extractive pattern "data colonialism."
Tech giants reported combined revenues exceeding $1.2 trillion across 2023, much of it driven by data-intensive digital services linked to global user activity, including Africa’s rapidly expanding online population. Analysts estimate that 85 to 95 percent of African data is stored or processed outside the continent, raising concerns about exposure to foreign legal regimes and potential tensions with privacy protections outlined in Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Data governance specialists describe a widening gap between formal data protection laws and their enforcement across African jurisdictions. Critics argue it risks locking African economies into a system where raw data is exported while high-value artificial intelligence products are imported at significant cost. Digital rights advocates are urging governments to strengthen data sovereignty frameworks as Africa’s internet user base, estimated at more than 600 million, continues to expand.
African Currents interviewed Paschal Ogana, Founder & Lead Director, Cybersecurity Intelligence Unit, Abuja, Nigeria, about parallels between historical colonialism and Western tech companies extracting African data and resources while limiting Africa’s role in AI development and profit-sharing. He contends that Africa risks long-term economic dependency if it fails to treat data sovereignty as a strategic priority rather than a technical issue and urged investment in African-owned digital infrastructure, AI research, and cybersecurity, alongside efforts to empower young Africans as creators rather than passive users in the digital economy.
"When we speak about the scramble for Africa, remember what happened in 1885. That was when the decision was made to share Africans by some European countries [...]. But today, we are talking about the digital scramble for Africa. What are they scrambling for? Data collection, cloud infrastructure, AI systems, telecommunication, digital finance, or algorithmic governance [...]. But when African data is exported, processed abroad, and monetized externally, there are three things I want us to understand that Africa will lose. The economic value leaves the continent. The innovation ecosystem weakens, and then dependency increases [...]. For us to speak of a sovereign data system for Africa, we must have a system that collects the data, secures the data process in Africa, analyzes it in Africa, and is economically beneficial to us in Africa," Ogana explained.
Catch the full discussion on the African Currents podcast, presented by Sputnik Africa.
Listen to this episode on our website or
Telegram.►
Subscribe to and explore all the episodes of African Currents.
