Introduction In a previous post, I introduced how grassroots can utilise social media for poverty alleviation. Poverty alleviation is part of the well-known United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, n.d.c.). Apart from these conventional problems, humanity faces increased and severe challenges in cyberspace. It is now much easier to collect data about individuals, groups, companies, and governments compared to the days prior to the invention of the Internet. Simultaneously, the difficulties controlling and regulating order in cyberspace cause a series of problems, including cyberattacks, digital economy divides, and impoverishment, among others. We discussed in our group podcast …

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Sold Out! ” This sentence has echoed in e-commerce and social media in China during the last three years. The number of anchors, big or small, selling products live on e-commerce platforms and social media has grown like bamboo after the rain. Among them are a group of people who dedicate their popularity to helping rural farmers sell unsalable agricultural products that risk being left in the field to rot. Hence, this leads us to ask whether social media could be a new road to poverty reduction in parallel to the more conventional projects. Born …

With big data comes big responsibility – what impact will the increasing datafication have on our lives and how can we ensure a socially just digital transformation? Join us on this blog as we explore and discuss these important topics, raising awareness on big tech’s role in development. Over the next couple of weeks, you will hear from us regularly through a series of interactive blog posts on issues ranging from data monopoly and personal integrity, the impact of digitalization on working conditions in the Global South, why particularly women should be concerned with the digital economy and how these …