A term for the condition of being bound to digital platforms for essential services—work, communication, commerce, social life—under terms entirely controlled by platform owners. Digital slavery is not physical bondage but functional: you cannot opt out without losing access to the infrastructure of modern life. Your ability to work depends on a rating you cannot contest; your social life depends on a platform that can delete your account; your access to news depends on an algorithm you cannot see. Freedom is reduced to choosing which master to serve.
Digital Slavery Example: "She wanted to leave the platform, but her professional network, her banking, and her housing all required it—digital slavery, choice without exit."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 26, 2026
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