INVESTIGATION: Digital Colonialism: How Big Tech Fuels War And Authoritarianism.

Author:

Kamran Faqir

Press Release: Veritas Press C.I.C. Author: Kamran Faqir Article Date Published: 28 Aug 2025 at 11:34 GMT Category: US | Science & Technology | Digital Colonialism Source(s): Veritas Press C.I.C. | Multi News Agencies

U.S. tech giants, including Microsoft, Tesla, Google, and Amazon, are quietly shaping a new kind of empire. Beyond the glossy products and AI innovations, these corporations are arming authoritarian regimes with surveillance tools, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, while simultaneously exploiting global mineral wealth. This emerging system, often called digital colonialism, is quietly redefining how control, power, and profit operate in the 21st century.

Microsoft, Azure, And The Surveillance Of Palestinians:

Investigations by The Guardian, 972 Magazine, and Local Call revealed that Israel’s military intelligence unit, Unit 8200, has relied on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store and process intercepted phone call data from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The data was reportedly used to track and target civilians in military operations.

Outraged by their employer’s complicity, Microsoft employees staged sit-ins at the company’s Redmond headquarters, demanding the termination of contracts with the Israeli government. Among the protesters, Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli were fired, sparking debate about corporate accountability. Activist group No Azure for Apartheid called Microsoft’s actions “tools for genocide,” arguing that the company’s response, an internal review conducted by law firm Covington & Burling, was insufficient and non-transparent.

“This is about Microsoft knowingly providing the infrastructure that enables state violence against civilians,” said protester Ibitihal Aboussad. “We are here to confront corporate complicity until it stops.”

Tech Companies And Authoritarian Regimes Across The Globe:

Microsoft is not alone. Investigations reveal that U.S. tech companies are providing cloud infrastructure, AI tools, and surveillance technology to regimes in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia:

• Saudi Arabia: Google’s cloud services underpin surveillance programs targeting dissidents.

• UAE: Amazon Web Services provides AI-backed monitoring of migrant workers and political opposition.

• India: Microsoft and Amazon’s facial recognition technology is deployed in Jammu & Kashmir, aiding predictive policing of minority communities.

• Egypt: Microsoft’s smart city initiatives are reportedly linked to surveillance of political opponents.

In each instance, technology designed for innovation and commerce is repurposed as a tool for control, allowing authoritarian regimes to expand power while shielding themselves under the guise of digital modernisation.

Tesla And Exploitation In Resource Extraction:

Tesla, a leader in electric vehicles, relies on cobalt and lithium mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a region rife with human rights abuses. Investigations have documented:

• Child labour and unsafe working conditions in cobalt mines.

• A lack of robust corporate oversight by Tesla, Microsoft, and other tech giants.

• Technology-for-resource deals, in which companies provide infrastructure or expertise in exchange for mineral access.

Analysts say this forms a digital–extractive loop, where technology empowers both surveillance and exploitation, perpetuating cycles of oppression and profit for multinational corporations.

AI Surveillance: The New Mechanism Of Control.

Artificial intelligence extends authoritarian reach far beyond traditional borders:

• Predictive policing identifies potential threats based on algorithmic profiling.

• Biometric databases track movement, employment, and access to services.

• Data analytics help regimes monitor activist networks and suppress dissent before it materialises.

These technologies, supplied and supported by U.S. corporations, transform everyday digital platforms into instruments of systemic oppression.

Accountability And Legal Challenges:

Despite internal reviews and corporate statements, accountability remains elusive:

• U.S. courts often dismiss lawsuits against tech companies for human rights violations abroad.

• Ethics reviews are non-transparent, leaving structural complicity unchecked.

• Activist interventions, from employee protests to whistleblower disclosures, frequently meet surveillance,

intimidation, and corporate suppression.

The result is a global system where technology enables power consolidation and profit, while human rights violations go largely unaddressed.

Mapping Digital Colonialism:

Analysts describe digital colonialism as a four-part structure:

1. Cloud Infrastructure – Powers mass surveillance and repression.

2. AI Tools – Enable predictive policing and labour control.

3. Resource Extraction – Supplies critical minerals while perpetuating exploitation.

4. Legal and Political Shielding – Internal reviews, NDAs, and lobbying protect corporations from accountability.

This network demonstrates how tech and authoritarian governance are intertwined, creating a global empire ruled by code, data, and profit rather than guns and borders.

Resistance and the Path Forward:

Resistance is growing. Employees, activists, and NGOs are calling out corporate complicity:

• Microsoft sit-ins highlight internal dissent and moral accountability struggles.

• Whistleblowers expose unethical surveillance and resource practices.

• Legal campaigns push for international regulation of corporate human rights responsibilities.

While these efforts are promising, they face formidable corporate power and global regulatory loopholes.

Conclusion:

The evidence is clear: U.S. tech giants are not passive participants; they are architects of a new global order, enabling authoritarian regimes, profiting from exploitation, and concealing complicity behind ethics statements and internal reviews.

Digital colonialism demands a reckoning. Governments, civil society, and consumers must enforce transparency, accountability, and ethical responsibility. Without action, the next generation of technology risks enslaving humanity to a system of surveillance, exploitation, and profit-driven oppression.

Call To Action:

• Stay Informed: Follow investigative outlets monitoring corporate practices.

• Support Advocacy Groups: Contribute to NGOs challenging tech complicity.

• Engage in Dialogue: Discuss ethical implications of AI, cloud, and supply chains.

Tags:

apartheid, colonialism, digital, dissent, employees, exploitation, Microsoft, palestine, resources, war