Data extraction constitutes a new phase of colonialism rather than a metaphor.

Evidence

But if colonialism can be understood, among other things, as a process that allows one party to occupy the living space of another and appropriate his resources, overpowering him through a combination of ideological rationalizations and technological means (which include the use of surveillance and dominance), then we propose that we have entered a new phase of colonialism. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 179

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the core claim of ‘data colonialism’ as a phase of colonial practice grounded in resource appropriation plus ideological and technological overpowering.
• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s stated purpose of weighing ‘data colonialism’ as a rival frame against attention/surveillance schools. — connects to: Data colonialism is a transitional phase preceding a new extractive order. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 354; Data colonialism is a literal process, not merely a metaphor — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 18; Data colonialism’s continuity is functional, not literal, with historical colonialism. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 46
• SEED: The definition hinges on ‘occupying living space’ and ‘overpowering’ - a useful boundary marker for where the frame does and doesn’t apply.

Broader Connections

• Data colonialism is a literal process, not merely a metaphor #corroborates (0.95) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 18
• Data colonialism is a transitional phase preceding a new extractive order. #expands (0.90) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 354
• Data colonialism’s continuity is functional, not literal, with historical colonialism. #contradicts (0.85) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 46