How can we foster digital autonomy through digital literacy and social inclusion in a country where most access to the internet by low-income people takes place through closed platforms, commanded by Big Techs?

According to the 2019 TIC household survey (CETIC, 2020), 58% of Brazilians access the internet exclusively through mobile phones. Among the population of class D/E, the percentage reaches 85%. The exclusive use of mobile for access is also higher among the black population (65%) compared to the white population (51%). In a 2015 survey, 55% of Brazilians said they believed that Facebook is the internet. (QUARTZ, 2015). Practices such as zero rating, which allow users to access certain internet services without spending their data plan are common in the country. Its adherence is driven by the high price and low quality of internet access in prepaid plans (RAMOS, 2016). A large part of technologies developed by the main social media platforms used by Brazilians aim to shorten paths and reduce the user's decision-making processes, or to use a market term: “optimize their experience.” These technologies facilitate the contact with digital platforms, but also reduce user’s autonomy and increasingly circunclose the areas and possibilities of using the network (MACHADO, 2019).

Taking into account issues related to the use of the internet in Brazil, this paper seeks to explore the possibilities of literacy and digital inclusion in a scenario where a significant amount of the population accesses the internet exclusively through the use of social media platforms.

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