NWICO 2.0: a decolonial framework for rethinking global digital communication

Abstract Structural inequalities continue to influence global communication in the digital age, despite assumptions of digital equity. While digital platforms have transformed the scale and speed of information spread, ownership and control over data, algorithms, governance systems, and infrastructure remain concentrated. This article reexamines the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) as a critical framework for analyzing contemporary global communication. It argues that neoliberal globalization did not remove communication imbalances; instead, they were reshaped by platform expansion, platform capitalism, and data extraction. Drawing on decolonial theory, political economy, and Global South scholarship, the study introduces NWICO 2.0. The framework conceptualizes global communication as a structured system that organizes global power. It identifies 9 interrelated dimensions through which digital inequality is structured and contested. By focusing on communication structures rather than information flows, the article makes 3 contributions. First, it reconceptualizes communication as constitutive of global modernity. Second, it highlights the Global South as a site for theoretical development. Third, it suggests a framework for communicative justice based on infrastructure, diverse knowledge, and data ownership. NWICO 2.0 offers a unified perspective for examining the structural and knowledge-related aspects of digital power, placing communication at the center of today’s global hierarchies.