Technology has seeped into every facet of our lives. Every action you take on the internet is monitored, fueling algorithms that can determine if you’ll get a job, be approved for a loan, or be subjected to increased police surveillance. Google and Apple use their market dominance to determine which smaller apps succeed and which fail through acquire, copy and kill strategies. And telecom giants like Comcast and Verizon get to charge whatever they want for us to connect to the internet while often failing to provide reliable service, capping our data arbitrarily, and choosing which traffic gets through based on the highest bidder. The Big Tech and telecom corporations would have us believe that this is the way it must be, all while chasing profits no matter the cost to the rest of us. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can create an Internet where Black people thrive. That’s why we created the Black Tech Agenda — to provide a roadmap for policymakers to ensure racial equity in tech regulation. The agenda offers real solutions that will help us to counter the fake solutions offered by Big Tech intended to preserve their profits at our expense. 

Check out the agenda by clicking here.

The Black Tech Agenda presents a visionary future for various aspects of technology, featuring six key pillars for Black tech equity. Each pillar includes COC’s vision for implementation, methods for building community awareness and power, specific policy imperatives, necessary corporate changes, community solutions, and strategies for organizers to combat opposition.

• Black Communities Need Clean Digital Access: Black communities face two connected problems: they are less likely to have reliable internet access, and Big Tech has continued polluting and consuming more energy. Black communities need affordable internet access that doesn’t harm their environment or health.
• Black People Need Individual Control Over Their Digital Lives: Companies collect and use Black people’s personal information without permission, often in ways that create harm. COC demands strong privacy laws that let people decide how their data is used, especially by AI systems.
• Black Neighborhoods Need Community Control: Tech companies intentionally exclude Black residents from decisions that affect their neighborhoods. COC demands laws requiring public input from Black communities before building new infrastructure or launching new systems that impact daily lives.
• Technology Must Work Fairly For Black Economic Success: AI systems often unfairly deny Black people jobs, loans, and housing. These systems require regular testing to detect and stop discrimination.
• Black Workers Need Protection and Pathways in Tech: Big Tech treats Black workers unfairly by exploiting warehouse workers and excluding Black employees from leadership roles. Rules that protect workers are necessary to create real paths to job security and advancement.
• Black Creators Need Control Over Their Expression: AI companies are appropriating Black art, scholarship, and likenesses without permission or payment to train their models. COC urges for laws that protect the intellectual property of Black creatives and ensure artists get paid when AI copies their style or work.

Join thousands of other Color Of Change members and pledge your support for this groundbreaking agenda today!

Here is the Petition:

I'm signing on as a supporter because I care about the safety of Black people online. The Black Tech Agenda will fight Big Tech monopolies, keep online platforms accountable, and make the virtual and physical worlds safer for Black people.