In this panel, Associate Professor of Sociology David Arditi introduced "digital feudalism" and advocated for a regulated digital public sphere and democratized online education to support healthy democracies. Isabela Fernandes, Technology Policy Expert, highlighted the potential of free software and decentralized technologies to combat big tech monopolies, based on her experiences in Silicon Valley and the Brazilian government. Marc Rotenberg, President of the Center for AI and Digital Policy, emphasized the detrimental impact of big tech on the news industry, calling for independent journalism and transparency in algorithmic decisions. Karim Amer, filmmaker and activist, advocated for decentralized networks and systemic changes to challenge big tech's centralized power, while Nicholas Bruckman, documentary filmmaker, highlighted the optimistic uses of technology, such as blockchain, to resist censorship and promote democracy through storytelling and activism.