The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South
It is urgent to build and support networks that are not subject to
corporate interests. Decentralized platforms like the fediverse,
community media, digital cooperatives, and alliances between
civil society organizations offer alternatives to preserve
our stories and sustain collective memory. Resistance also
means protecting spaces where our words are not silenced
by opaque algorithms and reclaiming our right to develop
alternative technologies. Words matter. And when we write
them in full, even when they’re uncomfortable or challenging,
we affirm that some truths cannot be contained, not even by
an algorithm. Recovering, protecting, and defending language
is an urgent task for those working toward a more just internet.
In an era of automation and silent censorship, reclaiming the
right to name is also reclaiming the right to exist. Adaptation
is not enough. We must transform the digital environment
so our words never have to hide. Content moderation must
move beyond punitive approaches and be reimagined as a
form of participatory governance, one that is accountable
to the communities it affects and that centers freedom of
expression, dignity, and equity as fundamental principles, not
as optional considerations.
Endnotes
[1] Outside the algorithm: How to communicate beyond social media. (2025,
July 23). Derechos Digitales.
https://www.derechosdigitales.org/en/recursos/outside-the-algorithm-how-to-communicate-beyond-social-media/
We must
transform
the digital
environment
so our words
never have to
hide.
84
The Platform Question: Power, Accountability and Global South
Meta’s Censorship.” https://7amleh.org/post/erased-and-suppressed-palestinian-testimonies-of-meta-s-censorship-en.
[6] Situación de derechos humanos y el uso de tecnología en el contexto de la
protesta social en Chile (Octubre-Noviembre de 2019). (2025, July 23). Derechos
Digitales. https://www.derechosdigitales.org/recursos/situacion-de-derechoshumanos-y-el-uso-de-tecnologia-en-el-contexto-de-la-protesta-social-enchile-octubre-noviembre-de-2019/
[7] Fundación Datos Protegidos & Observatorio del Derecho a la Comunicación.
(2019). Libertad de expresión en el contexto de las protestas y movilizaciones
sociales en Chile durante el estado de emergencia entre el 18 y el 27 de octubre
2019. https://datosprotegidos.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Informe_CIDH_
Preliminar_DP_ODC-1.pdf
[8] Press Release (2021, May 14). Fallas de internet, bloqueos de redes y censura
de contenidos en protestas: Realidades y retos para el ejercicio de los derechos
humanos en los contextos digitales. Fundación Karisma.
https://web.karisma.org.co/paronacionalcolombia-fallas-de-internet-bloqueos-de-redes-censura-de-contenidos-realidades-y-retos-para-el-ejercicio-de-los-derechos-humanos-en-los-contextos-digitales/
[9] Demoted, deleted, and denied: there’s more than just shadowbanning on Instagram – the markup. (2024, February 25). https://themarkup.
org/automated-censorship/2024/02/25/demoted-deleted-and-denied-theres-more-than-just-shadowbanning-on-instagram
[10] Venturini, J. (n.d.). A feminist lead towards an alternative digital future for
Latin America. Bot Populi.
https://botpopuli.net/a-feminist-lead-towards-an-alternative-digital-future-for-latin-america/
[2] Derechos Digitales, & Camacho, L. (2024). Perfilamiento en redes sociales
y ciberpatrullaje como nuevas modalidades de la vigilancia masiva desplegada por los Estados: casos relevantes en América Latina. In Derechos
Digitales [Report]. https://www.derechosdigitales.org/wp-content/uploads/
Informe-RELE-vigilancia-masiva_cerrado.pdf
[11] El periodismo feminista como resistencia en tiempos de conservadurismo extremo y violencia digital. (2025, March 11). Fundación Gabo. https://
fundaciongabo.org/es/etica-periodistica/entrevistas/el-periodismo-feminista-como-resistencia-en-tiempos-de?fbclid=IwY2xjawLQ-fBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFidTZuejB2ZlJUMFFFc29pAR4PDKnuUhfdg5IIY5aeaDYXv12crzCCDennH7_-TmJ8h-aCiVkHrvbF8cw1TQ_aem_e5ni7n1YB5vpSzpE9mYgQg
[3] Derechos Digitales is a Latin American-based non-profit organization
whose mission is to defend, promote, and develop human rights in the digital
environment through research, information dissemination, and advocacy in
public policy and private practice, fostering social change grounded in respect
for the rights and dignity of individuals. For more information visit https://www.
derechosdigitales.org/.
[12] Beck, I., Alcaraz, F., Rodríguez, P., Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e
Información, & ONU Mujeres. (2022). Violencia de género en línea hacia mujeres
con voz pública. Impacto en la libertad de expresión (D. Urribarri & A. Arias, Eds.).
https://lac.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Informe_ViolenciaEnLinea-16Mar23.pdf
[4] For more details about Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, See https://www.fes.de/en/
[13] Violencia digital: nuevos formatos, viejas formas de censura. (2025, July 31).
Derechos Digitales. https://www.derechosdigitales.org/recursos/violencia-digital-nuevos-formatos-viejas-formas-de-censura/
[5] 7amleh – Arab Center for Social Media Advancement. (n.d.). Hamleh - 7AMLEH releases new report: “Erased and Suppressed: Palestinian Testimonies of
Digital Resistance in the Age of Algorithmic Governance
[14] Pase, I. (n.d.). Por qué es importante para el periodismo descifrar el “algo-
Digital Resistance in the Age of Algorithmic Governance
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