Olufunmilayo B. Arewa (Philadelphia/Bonn): Technology Disruption, Digital Colonialism and Law in Africa

Abstract

A digital revolution has swept across many countries in Africa in recent years. This influx of new technologies has been to a significant degree disruptive. The list of such technologies might include mobile phones, social media and messaging platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Internet and e-commerce applications, peer-to-peer technologies, drones and robots, automation technologies, artificial intelligence, including machine learning, biometric technologies, blockchain and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Many policymakers and commentators implicitly assume that the impact of such new technologies on society will be positive. Although the ultimate effects of new technologies remain uncertain, existing governance practices and institutions in many African countries may start questioning these optimistic assumptions.

The introduction of new technologies draws attention to patterns of lawmaking within Africa, because many current laws and regulations were put in place before the digital revolution – as has also been the case elsewhere in the world. The poor fit of existing laws and regulations for new technologies is an issue of ongoing discussion and contestation globally. In addition to such acknowledged problems, the dissemination of new technologies in Africa may also highlight legal concerns that are less known, at least in many developed countries. This second set of concerns relates to ongoing colonial legacies, which are by no means limited to law. Historical legacies of colonialism raise questions about the influence of external forces in Africa in the digital era and the extent to which technology disruption has come with new patterns of digital colonialism. (Prof. Dr. Olufunmilayo B. Arewa)               

Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Dr. Olufunmilayo B. Arewa ist Inhaberin der Murray H. Shusterman Professor of Transactional and Business Law an der Temple University in Philadelphia, USA. Sie studierte Anthropologie am Harvard College sowie an der University of California, wo sie 1986 mit einer Arbeit zum Thema „Tarzan, Primus inter Primates: Difference and Hierarchy in Popular Culture“ promoviert wurde. Darüber hinaus besitzt Olufunmilayo B. Arewa einen Master-Abschluss in Applied Economics von der University of Michigan sowie einen Doktortitel der Rechtswissenschaften von der Harvard Law School. Nach ihrem Abschluss war sie Gastdozentin am Center for Afroamerican and African Studies (CAAS) der University of Michigan, Teaching Fellow an der Harvard University sowie Foreign Service Officer im U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. und Montevideo, Uruguay. Es folgten Tätigkeiten als Rechtsanwältin in Anwaltskanzleien und Unternehmen im Silicon Valley sowie in New York. Ebenso war Olufunmilayo B. Arewa Chief Financial Officer und General Counsel einer Risikokapitalgesellschaft in Boston. Bevor Olufunmilayo Arewa 2011 die Professur an der Temple University in Philadelphia übernahm, war sie Assistent Professor an der Case School of Law in Cleveland sowie Associate Professor an der Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. 2015 war sie Gastwissenschaftlerin an der Humboldt-Universität in Berlin. Darüber hinaus war Olufunmilayo Arewa unter anderem als Beraterin der Weltbank tätig und stellvertrende Vorsitzende der Nigeria Copyright Expert Working Group.

Ihre Forschungsschwerpunkte umfassen Recht und Kultur, Musik und Film, African Studies, sowie Technologie, Wirtschafts- und Urheberrecht.

Seit Mai 2019 ist sie Fellow am Käte Hamburger Kolleg „Recht als Kultur“ in Bonn.