All campaigns

Digital Sovereignty & Human Labor

Based on the research of Karen Hao (Empire of AI), we are witnessing a new era of colonialism. Big AI companies (The "Empires") are performing a global land, data, and labor grab. They take your intellectual property without payment, exploit a new hidden working class of "data annotators," and drain local power grids to fuel their "Rockets." It’s time to stop being a "Data Donor" and start being a Digital Citizen.

Campaign by

Buckoff

Cause

Labor

Website

Objectives

Digital Sovereignty & Human Labor

Target

Chegg

Chegg is a direct consumer subscription service for students at approximately $15/month. Students can switch to free AI tools or Khan Academy. Chegg's trajectory as a company that harvested student labor to build AI that then displaced that same student economy is a powerful object lesson in the AI colonialism narrative.

Better alternatives

Khan Academy (free, nonprofit, human-created educational content — strong mission alignment) Coursera (university-partnered courses with human instructors and peer interaction) edX / 2U (accredited human-taught courses from real universities) Quizlet (peer-created study sets, tutor marketplace with human tutors) Wyzant (connects students directly with independent human tutors — supports educator labor) Varsity Tutors (live human tutoring sessions, supports tutor employment) Bartleby by Barnes & Noble Education (human expert Q&A, though monitor AI expansion) Numerade (video-based human educator explanations for STEM) Brainly (peer-to-peer student community, human-driven answers) Local library systems (free access to textbooks, tutors, and study resources — fully public) University tutoring centers (on-campus human tutors, often free for enrolled students) Open Library / Internet Archive (free textbook access, nonprofit) Reddit study communities (r/HomeworkHelp, subject-specific subs — human peer support) Discord study servers (peer-to-peer human learning communities)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will uninstall the chegg app from my phone

Removing the app reduces Chegg's active user metrics and signals disengagement to advertisers and investors who track app usage data.

easy

I pledge to i will stop using chegg's free study tools and switch to a free alternative like khan academy or course hero

Chegg monetizes free users through ads and upsell funnels; migrating to alternatives directly reduces their traffic and ad revenue.

medium

I pledge to i will pause my chegg subscription for the maximum available period

Pausing interrupts Chegg's recurring subscription revenue and signals churn risk, which affects their reported subscriber counts.

medium

I pledge to i will cancel my chegg study or chegg study pack subscription

Chegg's primary revenue driver is its subscription services; cancellations directly reduce monthly recurring revenue and are tracked closely by the company and its investors.

medium

I pledge to i will return or sell my chegg-rented textbooks and switch to a competing rental or purchase platform

Chegg's textbook rental and sales segment contributes meaningful revenue; redirecting those transactions to competitors like VitalSource or Amazon Textbooks weakens this revenue stream.

hard

I pledge to i will cancel all chegg services and permanently close my chegg account

A full account closure eliminates Chegg's ability to re-engage you through promotions or free trials and removes your data from their active user base, sending the strongest possible signal of consumer withdrawal.

Target

Spotify

Spotify has over 230 million free users and 113 million Premium subscribers. Consumers can switch to Apple Music, Tidal, or Bandcamp. The narrative that Spotify uses artists' work to build tools to replace them — while paying them poverty wages — directly maps onto the 'AI colonialism of human labor' theme.

Better alternatives

Bandcamp (artist-owned platform, pays artists ~82% of revenue, strong independent music focus) Tidal (artist-equity model, higher royalty rates, owned partly by artists like Jay-Z historically) Qobuz (independent, hi-fi streaming, pays higher per-stream royalties than Spotify) Apple Music (higher per-stream pay rate than Spotify, no free ad-supported tier that dilutes royalties) YouTube Music (Google-backed but offers direct artist monetization via YouTube Partner Program) SoundCloud (independent artist uploads, direct fan-to-artist payment via SoundCloud Go+) Resonate (music streaming co-op, worker- and artist-owned cooperative model) Local record stores (physical media, 100% local labor support, full artist royalties via mechanical licensing) Bandcamp Fridays (specific days when Bandcamp waives its revenue share entirely to artists) Direct artist Patreon or Substack (fan subscriptions go near-entirely to individual artists)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will remove spotify from my home screen and stop opening the app for one week

Reducing active engagement lowers your value as a user in Spotify's engagement metrics, which directly affects advertiser and investor confidence. This is a low-friction first step that costs nothing.

easy

I pledge to i will leave a critical review of the spotify app on the app store or google play

App store ratings influence new user acquisition and are visible to millions of potential subscribers. A pattern of negative reviews can suppress downloads and damage Spotify's growth narrative.

medium

I pledge to i will downgrade my spotify premium plan to the free tier

Premium subscriptions are Spotify's largest revenue source, accounting for the majority of its income. Downgrading directly reduces recurring revenue while keeping you on the platform as a signal of dissatisfaction.

medium

I pledge to i will delete the spotify app from all my devices

Deleting the app removes you from Spotify's active user count, a key metric used to attract advertisers and justify its market valuation. It creates measurable friction in your relationship with the platform.

hard

I pledge to i will cancel my spotify premium subscription

Cancelling Premium directly hits Spotify's primary revenue stream; the company relies on subscriber growth to sustain its business model and stock price. Mass cancellations are the most impactful consumer signal available.

hard

I pledge to i will switch my music streaming service to a spotify competitor such as apple music, tidal, or youtube music

Migrating to a competitor permanently redirects your subscription dollars away from Spotify and demonstrates to the market that its user base is not captive. This is the most sustained form of economic pressure an individual can apply.

Target

Upwork

Upwork has both consumer-facing and business-facing products. Individual freelancers are consumers of the platform; businesses that hire are also accessible. Alternatives include Fiverr, Toptal, and direct hiring. The platform-as-exploiter narrative — building AI to replace the workers it hosts — is a strong campaign frame.

Better alternatives

Toptal (vetted freelance talent, strong contractor protections and pay standards) Contra (commission-free platform, designed to protect independent worker earnings) Fiverr (direct freelancer-to-client, no middleman bidding fees undermining wages) Guru.com (lower platform fees, more worker-friendly payment structures) PeoplePerHour (UK-based, stronger labor protections by design) Freelancer.com (global marketplace, direct payment options) Solid Gigs (job leads service, keeps freelancers off platform dependency) LinkedIn ProFinder (leverages existing professional network, no bidding wars) Local freelancer cooperatives (worker-owned, community-based, full earnings retained) Loom Network / Up&Go (worker-owned cooperative platforms) Direct hiring via personal referral networks (no platform fees, full worker compensation) CloudPeeps (community-focused, values-aligned freelance marketplace) Collective.work (cooperative-style creative talent platform)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will leave a critical review of upwork on a major review platform

Public reviews on sites like Trustpilot or G2 influence potential clients and freelancers considering the platform, directly affecting Upwork's ability to attract new users and revenue.

easy

I pledge to i will pause all new job postings or proposals on upwork for 30 days

Reducing activity on the platform lowers the transaction volume Upwork depends on for its service fees, signaling disengagement without fully closing an account.

medium

I pledge to i will downgrade my upwork membership to the free tier

Cancelling a paid Freelancer Plus or client subscription plan directly removes recurring revenue from Upwork while still allowing limited platform access.

medium

I pledge to i will move my active freelance contracts off upwork to a competing platform

Migrating work to competitors like Fiverr, Toptal, or Contra removes transaction fee revenue from Upwork and strengthens rival platforms.

hard

I pledge to i will delete my upwork account entirely

Permanently closing an account removes a user from Upwork's active base, reducing the platform's reported user metrics and the transaction fees it can generate.

hard

I pledge to i will source and hire all future freelancers exclusively through a competing platform

Fully redirecting hiring budgets away from Upwork to alternatives directly cuts into the gross services volume that drives Upwork's take-rate revenue model.