The Global Digital Compact: Shaping our Collective Digital Future

By flyingcowsofjoziusrDigital education, Digital ethics, Digital sustainability, From Josine's desk, News

The IFIP IP3 Global Industry Council (GIC) serves as the principal forum for employers and educators to engage with IP3 and shape the global ICT profession. Each month, they feature relevant and insightful ideas in IFIP Insights. This month, GIC director Josine Overdevest reflects on the September 2024 United Nations Global Digital Compact and the specific requests made of digital tech companies and developers. You can read the original here and we also publish it below.

I remember how I felt when during my law studies I first came across international public law: after years of feeling rather constrained by the strict rules of national civil, criminal and constitutional law, I felt my heart and head expanding at the aspirational and expansive agreements reached by the international community on how to inhabit this planet together.

That feeling returned when I read the Global Digital Compact (GDC) and attended some of its learning webinars. Even more encouraging this time was seeing not just 193 member states but also the private sector, civil society, academia and other stakeholders actively involved in the process of drafting its principles for cooperation. While it’s not a treaty that can be enforced, I believe this multi-stakeholder political agreement will find broad adherence and implementation. 

The Journey and Vision

UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s Policy Brief 5 from May 2023 laid out an ambitious vision for an inclusive, open, sustainable, safe, and secure digital future for all. Sweden and Zambia co-facilitated the subsequent intergovernmental process which included consultations with member states and stakeholders. The process culminated at the Summit of the Future in New York in September 2024, where the Compact became part of the broader Pact for the Future. The Global Digital Compact is firmly anchored in international law, including the UN Charter, human rights law, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Building on WSIS, Breaking New Ground

While the Compact builds on the foundations laid by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), it marks significant progress, through its multi-stakeholder approach and more attention for previously underrepresented groups, like youth, refugees and disabled people. In the UN Digital Community debriefing webinar, Special Advisor to the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology Isabel De Sola Creado also indicated that the role of tech companies and developers is notably more prominent, reflecting the evolved digital landscape.

Five Pillars for our Digital Future

The Compact identifies five key objectives:

  1. Closing digital divides: Universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030, including mapping and connecting essential institutions like schools and hospitals. This isn’t just about infrastructure – it’s about making sure everyone can actually use and benefit from digital services.
  2. Expanding digital economy benefits: Creating open, transparent and fair digital environments that foster competition and entrepreneurship, with particular attention to women, youth and marginalised communities.
  3. Fostering safe digital spaces: Protecting human rights online whilst tackling hate speech, disinformation and digital harassment. This includes specific protections for children and frameworks for governing digital platforms.
  4. Advancing data governance: Developing responsible, equitable and interoperable approaches to data governance that balance privacy protection with innovation. This includes facilitating cross-border data flows while preventing misuse.
  5. Enhancing AI governance: Promoting international cooperation in AI governance to ensure its ethical development and use, with proper transparency, accountability and human oversight.

Implications for Digital Technology Companies and Developers

The Global Digital Compact outlines specific responsibilities and requests for digital technology companies and developers. Here are the ten key requests made of them based on the text of the Compact:

  1. Respect international human rights: Companies and developers are urged to uphold international human rights principles throughout the life cycle of digital and emerging technologies. This includes conducting human rights due diligence and impact assessments​. 
  2. Ensure accountability for human rights abuses: Social media platforms and digital companies are asked to take accountability for and prevent human rights abuses in the digital space. This involves creating effective remedy mechanisms and aligning with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights​. 
  3. Engage with users: Developers should actively engage with users of all backgrounds and abilities to incorporate their needs and perspectives into digital technologies. This is particularly important for ensuring accessibility and inclusivity​. 
  4. Develop industry accountability frameworks: The Compact calls for the co-development of industry accountability frameworks in collaboration with governments and stakeholders. These frameworks should increase transparency around processes and define responsibilities. 
  5. Provide safety-related training: Companies are requested to provide users with training materials and safeguards, particularly focused on online safety for children and youth. 
  6. Establish accessible reporting mechanisms: Digital platforms should implement secure reporting mechanisms for users and their advocates to report potential violations. Special mechanisms should be developed for vulnerable groups, such as children and persons with disabilities​. 
  7. Enhance transparency and accountability: Companies are called upon to be more transparent in their systems, including content moderation, terms of service, and the handling of user data. The aim is to empower users to make informed choices​.
  8. Promote information integrity: Developers and social media platforms are urged to design solutions and frameworks that counter the harms posed by misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech. This includes identifying AI-generated content and implementing techniques like labelling and watermarking.
  9. Adopt common standards and safeguards: The Compact encourages the development and adoption of common standards that uphold safety, reliability, sustainability, and human rights throughout the technology life cycle​.
  10. Support sustainable digital practices: Companies and developers are encouraged to minimize negative environmental impacts through sustainable practices across the life cycle of digital products and infrastructure​.

Progress on Sustainability and Digital Literacy

The earlier drafts of the Compact were more explicit about environmental protection and digital literacy. As Filippo Pierozzi, Member of the Office of the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology, noted in the Global Digital Compact Learning Session, we should “hear the song from the notes” – as in the final text these crucial themes are woven throughout various commitments rather than standing as separate provisions.

In that regard, I’m pleased to share that the work of the Global Alliance on Digital Education & Sustainability (GADES, previously the Digital Literacy Alliance), which I covered in the April 2024 IFIP Insights, was presented during the Digital Action Day at the Summit of the Future. The Alliance’s key recommendations emphasised the need for:

  1. Inclusive digital literacy programmes: Expanding efforts to equip underrepresented groups, including women, youth, and marginalised communities, with digital skills.
  2. Sustainable digital infrastructure: Encouraging eco-friendly practices in digital development and focusing on reducing the environmental footprint of the tech industry.
  3. Cross-sector collaboration: Strengthening partnerships between governments, private sectors, academia, and civil society to address both digital literacy and sustainability challenges collectively.
  4. Data-driven policy making: Advocating for the use of robust data and research to inform digital education policies and initiatives.

These recommendations align closely with the broader objectives of the Global Digital Compact, reinforcing the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach in addressing digital literacy and sustainability.

From Vision to Reality

A comprehensive implementation map is due mid 2025, based on further multi-stakeholder input and the 20- year review of WSIS by the UN Commission on Science & Technology for Development. This creates a structured framework for tracking progress and ensuring accountability.

Getting Involved

If you share my enthusiasm for the Global Digital Compact and what an international community of stakeholders can achieve, here are ways to engage:

  1. Join the Global Digital Compact by endorsing the vision and principles of the Compact and/or taking an active part in the next steps: https://input.un.org/se/3995D1A45D6E9B20
  2. Join the Global Alliance for Digital Education & Sustainability: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4MLDFUxvXnNbQ6Zya2yYIvPxV8ex5tPXhOC1BDjadVf2FqQ/viewform

Through our engagement and collaboration, the Global Digital Compact will be more than aspirational text – it is our shared commitment to ensuring technology serves humanity. As IT professionals, we’re uniquely positioned to help turn these principles into reality, creating a fairer, more inclusive and human-centred digital future for all.

References

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *