Internet Governance

On 26 August 2020, the Digital Finance Task Force (DFTF) launched its report entitled ‘People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future’.  The 100-plus-page document develops on the work of the UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation and the recently published UN Secretary-General’s Report on Digital Cooperation by tackling the interplay between dig

The matters pertaining to the Internet and its ‘governance’ are broad and varied, and include aspects such as human rights, cybersecurity, infrastructure and connectivity, and skills learning, among others.

On June 11, UN Secretary General António Guterres launched the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation based on the report of the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The launch was accompanied by a series of discussions on the Roadmap’s key recommendations.

‘Black people live the estrangement that science fiction writers imagine.’

― Greg Tate (US writer, musician, and founding member of the Black Rock Coalition)

Tech in geopolitics, data tracing apps in focus, and cyber-attacks returning to ‘normal’ were among the main digital policy trends in May 2020.

These and many other developments were covered during May’s just-in-time briefing on Internet governance – our monthly appointment on the last Tuesday of every month – which took place on 26 May 2020. They are also summarised in the Issue 50 of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch newsletter.

Tackling misinformation and protecting media freedom in time of crisis and data tracing apps and privacy challenges they pose were among the main digital policy trends in April 2020.

These and many other developments were covered during April’s just-in-time briefing on Internet governance – our monthly appointment on the last Tuesday of every month – which took place on 27 April 2020. They will also be summarised in the Issue 49 of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch newsletter.

The drone industry has the potential to make a substantial contribution in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Developments in the industry have been nascent so far, but there is the potential for exponential growth in this industry. Based on the research report of Business Insider Intelligence on Drones for the Enterprise, the drone services market size is expected to grow from USD$4.4 billion in 2018 to USD$63.6 billion by 2025.

The urgency of tackling climate change cannot be overstated. Bold action is desperately needed. Enter the role of digital technologies, touted as a panacea for addressing (all) the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Goal 13 specifies climate action. Back in the day, actions like ‘going paperless’ and ‘thinking before printing’ were popular calls to stir individual and collective environmental consciousness; we would save trees and the planet by switching to digital.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has impacted all areas of digital policy this month. These developments were covered during March’s just-in-time briefing on Internet governance – our monthly appointment on the last Tuesday of every month – which took place on 31 March 2020. They will also be summarised in the Issue 48 of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch newsletter. The briefing was led by DiploFoundation’s Director of Cybersecurity and E-diplomacy Programmes Vladimir Radunović.

The European Commission’s plans for shaping Europe’s digital future, the interplay between health and digital technologies, and cybersecurity in international discussions were among the main digital policy trends in February 2020.