By Professor Ramón Gerónimo Brenna^[1]

 

Abstract

 

The concentration of technological power is a global phenomenon that affects Latin America in distinct ways. This article analyzes the legal and regulatory aspects of this concentration, considering digital sovereignty, personal data protection, and technological dependence.

 

It concludes that the region faces significant challenges in balancing innovation, digital rights, and regulatory autonomy, and proposes public policy recommendations aimed at strengthening digital governance and protecting citizens from concentrated actors in the technology sector.

 

Keywords: technological concentration; digital sovereignty; regulation; Latin America; data protection; public policy.

 

1. Introduction

The concentration of technological power is one of the most significant structural phenomena of recent decades. The centralization of digital infrastructures, data, and platforms in the hands of a small number of transnational corporations has redefined power relations in the economic, political, and legal spheres. While this process is global, it takes on particular characteristics in Latin America, where technological dependence, limited digital sovereignty, and regulatory fragmentation accentuate the effects of this concentration (ECLAC, 2022).

 

The consequences of this phenomenon impact governance, the economy, and fundamental rights. Public policies face the challenge of promoting technological innovation without exacerbating structural inequalities, while guaranteeing the protection of human rights and state sovereignty. 

 

2. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

The study of technological concentration requires an interdisciplinary approach that combines public law, political economy, and critical technology studies. Shoshana Zuboff (2019) defines surveillance capitalism as an economic regime based on the capture and exploitation of personal data as a commercial and political resource.

 

Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejías (2019) expand on this approach with the concept of data colonialism, which describes how the extraction of information reproduces global power hierarchies. Lawrence Lessig (1999) warns us that code, that is, the rules that govern digital systems, acts as a form of regulation comparable to law.     

 

In Latin America, Martín Becerra (2021) takes up these perspectives to emphasize that technological concentration exacerbates structural dependencies and demands strengthening digital sovereignty through active state policies..

3. Global Technological Concentration and Economic-Legal Foundations

The digital economy is characterized by strong network effects, economies of scale, and data control—factors that have driven the formation of digital monopolies and oligopolies.

 

Platforms such as Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft accumulate vast volumes of data and infrastructure capabilities, consolidating dominant positions that are difficult to reverse (OECD, 2021).

 

From a legal perspective, technological concentration raises tensions with competition rules and with the fiscal and regulatory sovereignty of states. The extraterritoriality of digital operations challenges the jurisdiction of nation-states, which lack effective mechanisms to control the cross-border transfer of data or to impose appropriate tax obligations (Cohen, 2019).

 

4. Digital Dependence in Latin America

Latin America exhibits a marked technological dependence, evidenced by the concentration of digital infrastructure, the lack of development of local software industries, and the outsourcing of essential services. More than 75% of the cloud infrastructure in the region is controlled by foreign companies (IDB, 2022).

 

This dependence, limits the capacity of states to guarantee privacy, the ciberseguridad and the strategic use of public data. According to ECLAC (2023), the region allocates less than 1% of its GDP to investment in research and technological development, which widens the digital divide compared to advanced economies.

5. Comparative Legal Analysis by Country

In Argentina, Law 25.326 on the Protection of Personal Data (2000) and the role of the Agency for Access to Public Information provide an initial framework, but without full adaptation to the challenges of digital platforms. Brazil has made progress with the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and the creation of the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), which constitutes a regional model. Mexico has the Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data (2010) and a relatively consolidated authority, although it faces interoperability problems. Chile is moving forward with a new data law under discussion and nascent cyber security policies. Colombia maintains Law 1581 (2012) with an emphasis on data subject rights and principles of legality, but faces technical limitations.

 

6. Challenges to Digital Sovereignty and Regional Regulation

The main challenges include: regulatory fragmentation, weak institutional capacity, the concentration of infrastructure in the hands of global actors, information asymmetry between companies and users, and the risks to democracy and fundamental rights posed by mass surveillance and algorithmic manipulation..

To meet these challenges, States must design coordinated regulatory frameworks and strengthen the technical, legal, and ethical capacities of their control agencies.

 

7. Public Policy Proposals and Regional Cooperation

Policies should focus on: regional regulatory harmonization inspired by international best practices; institutional strengthening; algorithmic transparency; investment in sovereign digital infrastructure; and regional cooperation to articulate a common voice in international forums.

These measures seek to transform technological dependence into a process of progressive autonomy, strengthening digital sovereignty and citizen well-being.

 

8. Conclusions

Technological concentration represents one of the greatest contemporary challenges, but also a historic opportunity. Latin America can transform dependence into sovereignty if it orients its digital development toward equity, innovation, and human rights.

 

The goal should not be to limit technological development, but rather to direct it toward social well-being and the expansion of freedoms. Technology, when well-regulated and used ethically, can enhance democracy, inclusion, and sustainable economic progress. More technology with more and better rights means greater human well-being. The future of the region depends on achieving that balance between innovation, regulation, and digital social justice.

 

 

 

Bibliography

1.        Becerra, M. (2021). Sovereignties in Dispute: Communication and Power in the Digital Environment. Siglo XXI Editores.

2.        IDB. (2022). The Digital Transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Perspectives and Public Policies. Inter-American Development Bank.

3.        ECLAC. (2022). Digital Panorama of Latin America 2022. United Nations.

4.        Cohen, J. (2019). Between Truth and Power: The Legal Constructions of Informational Capitalism. Oxford University Press.

5.        Couldry, N., & Mejías, U. (2019). The Costs of Connection: How Data Is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating It for Capitalism. Stanford University Press.

6.        Lessig, L. (1999). Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books.

7.        OECD. (2021). Digital Economy Outlook. OECD Publishing.

8.        Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. Public Affairs.