Context: In the recently concluded ‘Summit of the Future’ organised by the United Nations, member countries adopted the ‘Global Digital Compact’ (GDC).
What is Global Digital Compact?
- The GDC is not a binding law but a diplomatic instrument with a set of shared goals for governments, institutions, firms, and other stakeholders to bear in mind.
- Once there is greater adherence, the terms of the compact may become soft laws in each country.
- The GDC rests on the idea that digital technologies are dramatically changing our world.
- While they offer potential benefits for societies and for our planet — by enabling Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — they also pose serious challenges and concerns.
- The GDC is a collaborative project with the objective of ensuring human oversight of technologies in ways that advance sustainable development.
- Building on the norms of international law, the Universal Declaration of Human rights, and the UN 2030 Agenda, among others, the GDC proposes global cooperation in the governance of data and digital technologies
- To meet the Compact’s goals, UN member countries have committed to establish two panels — an ‘Independent International Scientific Panel on AI [Artificial Intelligence]’ and a panel for ‘Global Dialogue on AI Governance’.
What is digital goods and services?
- To address the digital divide, the GDC proposes “digital public goods” that will include open-source software, open data, and open AI models, plus adherence to privacy and best practices
Challenges in GDC
- Openness in the context of the digital public infrastructure may be limited by contractual requirements such as non-disclosure, confidentiality, and protection of intellectual property.
- It asked for self-regulation by digital technology company which in the past remains ineffective.
- The GDC recognises interoperable data governance as essential to foster innovation and promote economic growth, but this may amplify risks in the absence of effective personal data protection and privacy laws.
- The GDC does bat for “data flow with trust” but many countries have refused to accept this idea because it goes against the spirit of digital sovereignty.
In sum, the GDC may not result in a paradigm shift in the world’s governance of digital technologies, but it can facilitate significant and tangible outcomes if member states take it seriously.