Data and Afrofuturism: an emancipated subject?

Abstract

: The concept of an individual, liberal data subject, who was traditionally at the centre of data protection efforts has recently come under scrutiny. At the same time, the particularly destructive effect of digital technology on Black people establishes the need for an analysis that not only considers but brings racial dimensions to the forefront. I argue that because Afrofuturism situates the Black struggle in persistent, yet continuously changing structural disparities and power relations, it offers a powerful departure point for re-imagining data protection. Sketching an Afrofuturist data subject then centres on radical subjectivity, collectivity, and contextuality.