Toussaint Nothias joined NYU's Faculty in Fall 2023. He is Clinical Associate Professor at XE and affiliated Faculty in the Department of Media, Culture and Communication. Prior to that, he was Senior Research Scholar and Research Director of Stanford University’s Digital Civil Society Lab. Toussaint is a communication scholar working on journalism, civil society, and digital technologies. His research studies the multifaceted legacy of colonial power relations on contemporary media representations, journalistic practices, associational life, and digital networks.
He currently researches zero-rating - a practice used by tech companies to provide free of charge online access. He examines the historical significance of this digital policy in accelerating the global expansion of social media; assesses the hidden costs of zero-rating for privacy, news pluralism, market concentration, and user finances; and analyzes when and why digital rights activists across the Global South have either challenged or accepted the practice.
Other ongoing projects include an edited volume investigating the impact of AI-powered technologies on freedom of assembly, and an intellectual history of the concept of digital colonialism. His prior work concentrated on media stereotyping and representations of Africa in global news. At Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab, Toussaint led several collaborative and cross-sectoral efforts to advance conversations about the social implications of digital technologies. These included an interdisciplinary postdoctoral program, the design and teaching of the Lab’s flagship seminar, and research programs related to decolonizing technologies, digital assembly, dark patterns, and digital public infrastructures.
For more info, see Toussaint's personal website.