Hello all, it has been a while since we published a newsletter; it is great to restart this once again! 

Data, Tech & Black Communities CIC is a small not-for-profit organisation working with diverse communities of Black/Black heritage people and our allies, to ensure that data and data-driven technologies (e.g. AI) enhance the lives of Black/Black heritage people, rather than curtail or surveil them. Our members are  Black and of Black heritage, but we proactively work with friends and supporters from all backgrounds and organisations allied with our work.

This newsletter exists to keep this community informed about our work and about data and technology news that’s especially relevant Black & Back Heritage communities.

What have we been up to?

Planning the launch of our EdTech Advocacy Toolkit on 7th June  

With the help of Charlotte Bailey and Alima Rico, we are wrapping up the report for our Birmingham-focused community research project examining how Educational technology applications (EdTech) are used in schools and how parents/guardians, community organisers and school staff feel about them. We’ve also been developing a toolkit to help parents advocate on behalf of their children and protect their data.   

Join us in Birmingham on June 7th to hear about our research findings and be one of the first to test our EdTech Advocacy toolkit. This ticketed event will run from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. We’ll be sending out booking information soon. 

Working on our website- it’s coming in May!!

Our Medium blog has been the primary way to learn about who we are and find out what we’re up to (like our EdTech project) or what we’re thinking about. But as our engagement and practice evolves, we need a different online space to host our work and connect with more people who want to be part of this community. Florence Okoye has been helping to build this website. It should be ready in May, and we’re so excited!

Refining our membership model- From June you could become a member!  

DTBC was always envisioned as a member-run organisation. We think that’s the best way to sustain a community-led approach to scrutinising the uses of data and tech in society, and to advocate for change where needed. We work communally (as we did for the Birmingham EdTech project), but never got round to formalising this. That’s also why, to date, the day-to-day running of DTBC has fallen to four Black/Black heritage, very tired women that squeeze this work in around busy lives and full-time jobs. This was never the plan.

That’s why we’ve been refining our membership model. Membership is free, and this community will be a safe space for Black/Black heritage people who want to examine the use of data and data-centric technologies across all aspects of our lives. Are you interested in becoming a member?  Then do send us a message admin@dtbc.org.uk

Out and about

Whilst we have been immersed in report writing and planning for the launch, we have also been out and about to advocate for the importance of considering the impacts of data and data-centric technologies on Black/Black heritage lives. Last month, Tracey was invited to speak at Doughty Street Chambers’ annual Children’s Rights lecture (Youtube video and Tracey spoke at 1:18:00). Ade attended a closed roundtable event held by Minister Chris Bryant to gather feedback from civil society organisations about the proposed Data Use and Access Bill- which we have been tracking since it was first announced by previous government

How data and data-centric technologies are showing up in our world 

Below are some stories and calls to action which have made us stop and think. These and other news and research articles and blog posts can all be found on our curated Raindrop page. Please tell us about stories that you’ve found interesting! 

🧑🏿‍🎓Education 

• Community organisations have been resisting the use of Think Family Education, an EdTech app used in Bristol schools to monitor pupils and families. Community organisations like Bristol CopWatch and Black South West Network want to raise more awareness about how this app is used in schools and by the police. They’ve launched a Kickstarter to raise funds to make a movie about this. 

• Our friends at BLAM UK (a non profit  dedicated to empowering Black British students through cultural education and advocacy are investigating the use of Body Worn Cameras in schools. Can you help them by completing this persona-based survey:

  • For children child: Children's view on Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) in Schools.

  • For Youth-workers: Youth Worker's view on Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) in Schools

  • For teachers: Teacher's views on Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) in Schools

  • For parents: Parents views on Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) in Schools

🦸🏿‍♀️Crime & justice

• The Voice Newspaper reported findings from City Hall Green researchers that last year over half of facial recognition deployments were in high Black population areas.

• We’ve spotted this great new resource from Weaving Liberation which provides strategies for Resisting Digital Policing in Europe

• The Home Office allegedly –because they refuse to confirm or deny – have issued Apple with a secret order to give them access to Apple users’ encrypted data. Experts have warned that once you break encryption for the Government, it’s pretty much a free for all for scammers and fraudsters too. Scams cost the UK £11.8 bn.  The Home Office also refuses to answer any questions about the risks to Apple users. There’s a good chance that other phone providers simply complied. 

🧘🏿‍♂️Health 

• 23 and Me, the US-based direct-to-consumer genetic-testings company, has filed for bankruptcy. One likely outcome of this is that all the genetic and customer-reported data that the company holds will be sold to the highest bidder. 23andMe’s privacy statement reserves the company’s right to transfer customers’ personal information in the event of a sale or bankruptcy. Shockingly, this extremely sensitive data is nothing more than a company asset under US law – 23 and Me’s operation was not governed by HIPAA. Former customers will have no say over which corporate entity gets hold of their data. We’ll just have to wait and see. 

👨🏿‍🌾Environment  

• The government has decided to centre its economic growth plans on the AI industry, which includes giving the go-ahead for more data centres to be built in the UK and changing planning laws so this can be done even where there is local opposition. However, the Legal Advocacy group, Foxglove has been sounding the alarm about how the government’s approach puts the UK at risk of severe water shortage in the coming years. This is coming at a time when ordinary people are seeing their water bills rise by as much as 35% and debt-ridden private water companies like Thames Water are appealing to the high court for the right to charge as much as 53%.  

🤳🏿What are we watching/listening to?

• We’ve been listening to Organized Money a podcast that discusses how corporations use monopoly power to maximise profits, kill competition and exploit consumers. 

🙌🏿What’s bringing us joy this month?

• There’s a lot to be critical about when it comes to the Information Commisioner’s Office’s approach to enforcement of our data protections – that’s why it’s so important we continue to lobby them. Well, that’s what Tanya O’Caroll, a Foxglove senior fellow did and it paid off! She became the first person in the UK to secure agreement from Meta to switch off Facebook’s creepy surveillance-based targeted advertising, which sifts through our most personal and sensitive data to sell us things. You can read more about it here. Does this inspire you to take action? 

Get in touch!

We hope you enjoyed our newsletter. We promise to get more succinct unless you prefer our little summaries. Either way, if you have thoughts, news to share with us, or want to get involved in any way, do get in touch: admin@dtbc.org.uk

We’ll hit your inbox in the next few weeks with details about our event!

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