Digital Sovereignty as Social Justice: Protecting African Maritime Commons in the Age of AI

Abstract

Abstract

The rapid digitalization of the African maritime domain has ushered in a period of unprecedented data extraction that threatens the integrity of the marine commons. While foreign-funded surveillance infrastructures proliferate across the Gulf of Guinea, they simultaneously expose deep institutional vulnerabilities and facilitate a modern form of digital colonialism. This paper examines the critical dissonance between established maritime obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the opaque practices of private artificial intelligence systems. By framing maritime data as a vital form of indigenous knowledge and a cultural commodity, this paper addresses the scholarly gap regarding who exerts communicative power over algorithmic insights derived from Global South marine environments. Through socio-legal analysis, the study demonstrates that the current international legal architecture fails to protect the digital agency of coastal communities against the encroachment of proprietary systems. Drawing upon theories of digital hegemony, it contextualizes how these power dynamics disrupt the flow of strategic information. The paper proposes the adoption of Blue Data Trusts as a necessary fiduciary framework to ensure transparency and accountability. By outlining specific legal and contractual mechanisms, it provides a blueprint for aligning digital infrastructure with African Sustainable Development Goals. This work contributes a novel conceptual framework for digital sovereignty as a form of social justice, offering scholars in the digital humanities and legal studies a pragmatic approach to reclaiming authority over the maritime commons in the age of artificial intelligence.