Digital Action’s Public Affairs Manager, Ruth Dunlop, reflects on her time with us as she prepares to move on.
Nearly three years to the day since I joined Digital Action, I am preparing to move on (to become the Public Affairs Manager at the Asylum Reform Initiative).
When I joined Digital Action we were a team of 4, very much in the start-up phase as an organisation, facing down the David vs Goliath battle of protecting democracy and human rights in a digital age. I was excited by the opportunity this presented me to test my coalition building skills (built up at Crisis Action and the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness) but reflecting on it now I was also pretty terrified. Where would I find inspiration in this new sector? How could we fight back against huge corporate power? Would collective campaigning add value to the tech accountability community? Looking back, here is what I learnt.
The Challenge:
I would be the first to admit when I joined Digital Action I knew very little about the ways Big Tech companies, with staggering power and little accountability, were reshaping the way our democracies work. My work on humanitarian causes and in UK politics meant I had an instinct that these companies were inflaming divisions and intensifying inequalities but I needed to learn quickly.
The more I spoke to people in the fight, the more I understood the fundamental ways our democracies and human rights were being weakened. From the collective of Rohingya refugees demanding remedy from Facebook for their role in the 2017 genoside to the doctors battling the Covid-19 pandemic also having to deal with disinformation spread on social media, I saw the immense harm caused by the current business model of Big Tech. These harms were deeper and more far reaching than I could have imagined and convinced me that taking on Big Tech needs to be on the list for all social justice movements.
More than just the harms, I witnessed the excessive power these companies hold and how unaccountable they had been allowed to become. Coming from the humanitarian sector where we were often trying to get warmongers to protect civilians, I thought I had a good grasp of the challenges of holding the powerful to account and influencing their decisions. I was wrong. The sense of tech exceptionalism built on their rapid growth means Big Tech companies are often counted outside the frameworks of corporate accountability and Government regulation. From this pedestal a small group of billionaires can tweak an algorithm and change the fate of billions without constraints or fear of consequence. This is true everywhere, but far more so for those in global majority countries. In recent years it has become ever clearer how companies headquartered in the global north have been negligent when it comes to dealing with the impact of tech on the global majority.
The Fight Back:
It was this power imbalance that motivated me and it became my plan to work out how as civil society we could fight back together. Luckily for me, the tech accountability community is full to the brim with inspiring campaigners, activists and researchers not willing to give up even when the odds are stacked against them. Over the last three years, I have been privileged to learn from this network, convene and connect them, and catalyse new collaborative action.
Since its founding in 2019, Digital Action has been experimenting to see how a behind-the-scenes strategic convenor could help civil society hold Big Tech to account. Central to this truly collaborative approach is the Digital Action mantra of listening and then leading. Large parts of my role involved making new connections, consulting them on what change they wanted to see, building trust between groups and then leading collective action. For example, since Spring I have been working under the leadership of Alexandra Pardal — our new Head of Campaigns — to develop plans for a global campaign to compel Big Tech companies to establish effective and equitable safeguards against the risks they pose in 2024, the most significant year for elections globally this century. For this we have consulted civil society organisations from around the world, built new networks, organised convenings in Zambia and Lebanon and deepened our understanding of the current inequity in tech accountability.
Of course, being a behind-the-scenes strategic convenor is easier said than done and impactful, inclusive collaboration isn’t a naturally-occurring phenomenon. That is why it is important that Digital Action is true to its values — being network generous, mission focused and willing to learn and experiment. These values sit not just within our campaigns but our wider team — Digital Action is a collaborative, energetic and supportive place to work and from day one I was able to get stuck into leading campaigns, helping the organisation grow and shaping our organisational strategy.
The experimentation focused model of Digital Action meant I was able to work across lots of different campaigns, expose myself to new ideas and collaborators and constantly testing the boundaries of what civil society organisations could achieve when we work together. For example, working with Digital Action colleagues and brilliant collaborators we built up the The People Vs Big Tech community to push back against the massive lobbying power of Big Tech in Brussels and ensure the Digital Services Act defends people’s fundamental rights. I also expanded Digital Action’s network and brought new voices into the tech accountability community. From faith leaders in the UK, to South African civil liberty leaders and advertisers fed up with their work sitting alongside climate misinformation and hate speech, these new allies have brought their expertise and power to our community. Following the leadership of Bissan Fakih I was able to build Digital Action’s work beyond Europe and focus my attention on issues of global equity. Together with a brilliant Steering Committee we were able to launch The Global Alliance Against Digital Hate and Extremism in April this year and began our joint work centring global majority civil society and the voices and experiences of those facing harm in debates around Big Tech.
And so as I prepare to sign off after three wonderful years, I am grateful for the opportunities I have had, motivated by the lessons I have learnt and excited by the things I know the tech accountability community will go on to achieve. I have had the pleasure of working with wonderful people, building a community and being part of brilliant campaigns taking on Big Tech. Thank you to my Digital Action colleagues and wider community for your guidance, friendship and inspiration. Keep up the fight!