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During the COVID-19 crisis, for the first time in history, billions of people on all continents and at sea, underwent an identic experience, irrespective of country, race, nationality, or gender. No war, no crisis, no pandemic, no revolution in the past produced such a social and psychological impact, across all borders. The fear and uncertainty brought on by the virus triggered almost identical reactions from individual human beings and communities.

The future relationship negotiations between Britain and the EU, which commenced on 3 March 2020, teach many lessons in the art of negotiation. Among these are the obvious value of certain kinds of deadline and the less obvious value of publicly announcing ‘red lines’ before talks start. For present purposes I shall concentrate on what they reveal about videoconferencing and whether it has all been for show.

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.

Lockdowns and other restrictions imposed by governments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused catastrophic losses to businesses. Foreign investors around the world, whose investments are protected under international investment treaties, are entitled to have disputes with the host state arbitrated by an international arbitration tribunal.

In 2019, the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) published the report Measuring digital development. The report presented several important facts and figures, including that an estimated 4.1 billion people have used the Internet in 2019. Among them, 83.9% came from developed countries (DC), while only 19.6% came from the least developed countries (LDCs).

We need to ensure we digitalise all of our business processes as to enable the effective digital transformation of our governments, businesses, and educational institutions so that the disruptive solutions brought by the global pandemic, including remote work, digital health, e-learning, and fintech, are collectively recognised as a pivot point in our history.

There... I’ve done it... I’ve met the challenge of how many currently fashionable buzzwords and jargon I can stuff into a single sentence.

The spread of the Coronavirus has caught many countries unprepared, and there has not been a unified response to the mounting threat. Governments around the world began targeting those they feel are responsible for the crisis. Enemies were numerous. Some were invisible, some were foreign citizens coming from Coronavirus hotspots, and others were disobedient co-nationals.

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 world is driven by information. That is almost an understatement in this era. In today’s hyperconnected world, marked by unprecedented opportunities for innovation and transformation, information stands as the foundation of all possible processes which affect human life and evolution. Staggering levels of information availability and access, spurred by information and communication technologies, have steadily fostered the understanding that the search for information is inextricably linked to the quest for individual and collective security and development.

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.