Networks, Observatories, and Programs in International Cooperation

a mapping of responses to the dilemmas of data capitalism

Abstract

Data capitalism, characterized by the large-scale extraction and commodification of human experience, imposes ethical, social, and political dilemmas that transcend national borders. Faced with the operations of transnational technology companies, isolated responses prove insufficient. This article investigates how international cooperation networks, observatories, and programs are organized to study, analyze, and challenge the effects of this new information regime. Based on a qualitative methodology involving documentary research and content analysis, we map and analyze key cooperation initiatives, distinguishing between intergovernmental approaches (OECD, Council of Europe, EU), regional networks (such as the Ibero-American Data Protection Network - RIPD and the African Union Data Policy Framework), and civil society articulations (Global Privacy Assembly, AI observatories). The results indicate a complex governance ecosystem where regulatory frameworks like the GDPR and Convention 108+ promote legal harmonization, while a new generation of laws (Data Act, AI Act) seeks to regulate data markets and algorithmic risks. However, the analysis reveals tensions between models aimed at regulating the market and those seeking a systemic challenge to its extractive logic. We conclude that to address the ethical-informational crisis, it is imperative to strengthen hybrid cooperation models that integrate state legitimacy with the agility and critical rigor of civil society, advancing a "data justice" agenda that moves beyond mere individual privacy protection.