Pluralistic Digital Harm Analysis: Combining Ethical, Legal, and Historical Views on Corporate Evil

The expansion of ‘big tech’ companies fuels controversy over their enablement of digital harm—the adverse effects arising from the design, development, and use of digital technologies. Traditionally, Information Systems (IS) scholarship focused on technology’s business value, often overlooking digital harm or rationalizing it as a byproduct of progress, an unintended side-effect, or irrational user resistance. While recent attention to the 'dark sides' of digitalization sparks a discourse on corporate digital responsibility, there remains an urgent need for IS research to fully grasp the root causes of digital harm rather than addressing its symptoms. By confronting the underlying capitalist, consequentialist, and colonialist ideologies that perpetuate corporate evil—negligent or reckless corporate actions prioritizing profit over dignity, leading to various societal harms and negative externalities—this paper develops a novel methodological framework that combines ethical, legal, and historical perspectives. This contribution facilitates a pluralistic analysis and addressal of digital harm, thus guiding the pursuit of less harmful digital futures.