The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South CHAPTER 4 Digital Resistance in the Age of Algorithmic Governance: Insights from the Latin American Experience By Nicole Solano, Jamila Venturini and Catalina Balla Social media platforms were initially welcomed by civil society organizations, grassroots movements, and human rights defenders across Latin America as powerful tools for visibility, mobilization, and counter-narrative building[1]. They created new opportunities to expose injustice, call for collective action, share knowledge, and amplify perspectives traditionally excluded from mainstream media. Where democratic space was shrinking and public participation was increasingly restricted, these platforms became one of the few remaining avenues for exercising public voice. While governments have attempted to “surveil and silence online expression, which continue to be bravely resisted by Latin American civil society”[2], today the promise of social media is being challenged by another growing threat: automated decision-making systems that determine what content is visible, what remains hidden, and what is removed entirely. Algorithm-powered content moderation not only affects those who publish but also shapes what information the public can access, engage with, and discuss. What was once a space to elevate marginalized voices has increasingly become a mechanism for filtering, distorting, or erasing nondominant discourse. In Latin America, this shift has been particularly acute. Movements that once found in social media a rare avenue to document repression and demand accountability now confront additional barriers to express their views. 74 Digital Resistance in the Age of Algorithmic Governance Digital Resistance in the Age of Algorithmic Governance What was once a space to elevate marginalized voices has increasingly become a mechanism for filtering, distorting, or erasing non-dominant discourse. 75