March Digital Matters

This month’s Digital Matters—our monthly round-up of news, research, events, and notable uses of tech—explores the intersections of democracy and digital technology, a major theme at international conferences and events around the world this month. Earlier in March, the third iteration of the Summit for Democracy, first held in 2021 in the United States, took place in Seoul, South Korea. This year’s conference took on the future of democracy, with a special emphasis on the use of digital technologies by democratic and non-democratic governments alike. Delegations from South Korea and the U.S. specifically called out the dangers of digital technologies like AI being used to produce fake news and disinformation campaigns intended to weaken democratic institutions.

We also dig into how Digital Public Infrastructure can address the world’s digital divide, providing a means for empowering underrepresented groups and building stronger and more inclusive economic and political systems. From an open-source tool that supports financial inclusion to an app that aids citizens in reporting property damage during wartime, DPI is reshaping the way the private and public sector approaches development work. Meanwhile, a slate of new legislation in the European Union, as well as ramped-up antitrust investigations in the U.S., could mean big changes are underway for Big Tech. Experts have long debated how to approach regulation of the tech industry; the advent of both the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and the Digital Markets Act, which aim to set clear rules and boundaries on how tech companies operate, will be important test cases with far-reaching implications for the rest of the world.

How are governments and civil society partners tackling digital threats to democracy?

Earlier this month, South Korea hosted the third Summit for Democracy, an international forum for the discussion of policy issues related to democratic development. The theme of this year’s conference was “Democracy for Future Generations,” and brought in more than 300 delegates including members of government, representatives from international organizations, civil society actors, researchers, and academics. A key focus of this year’s meeting was digital threats to democracy, with many delegations emphasizing the danger of authoritarian government misuse of technology to strengthen their regimes and repress democratic movements.

Blinken tells democracy summit that technology must sustain democratic values, Associated Press (Mar 18, 2024)

Speaking in Seoul at the ministerial conference of this year’s Summit for Democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of harnessing technologies to support democratic institutions. As Blinken stated, the urgency of this mission is underscored by the way non-democratic governments are currently using digital tools. “As authoritarian and repressive regimes deploy technologies to undermine democracy and human rights, we need to ensure that technology sustains and supports democratic values and norms,” he said. The dual-use nature of technologies like AI mean democratic governments need to act quickly to minimize the risk that authoritarian governments may use them for anti-democratic ends.

FACT SHEET: Delivering on the Biden-⁠Harris Administration’s Commitment to Democratic Renewal at the Third Summit for Democracy, The White House (Mar 20, 2024)

On the heels of the Summit’s final day, the White House released a fact sheet of concrete commitments to build on the discussions had at this year’s conference. A driving theme of the White House’s plan is the importance of advancing technology for democracy. Specifically, the fact sheet lays out efforts to combat the use of commercial spyware that enables human rights abuses and the surveillance of civil society actors through export controls, sanctions, and visa restrictions, among other measures involving cooperation at the international level. These efforts are a step in the right direction that set the tone for how the democratic community will address anti-democratic abuse of emerging technologies.

USAID Announces New Updates at the 2024 Summit for Democracy Under the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, USAID (Mar 2024)

Alongside the White House, the U.S. Agency for International Development released its own commitments for building on the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, a set of policy and foreign assistance initiatives first launched after the 2021 Summit for Democracy. USAID’s newest initiative aims to advance digital democracy through cooperation with governments, technologists, and civil society “to build rights-respecting digital ecosystems.” The initiative is bolstered by $9.8 million in funding, disbursed among eight countries. To further support this effort, USAID also announced that it would open the Advancing Digital Democracy (ADD) Academy this month. The Academy, which will work in partnership with multinational technology companies such as Cloudflare, Google, and Microsoft, will provide trainings in cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud computing, and responsible AI, among other topics.

Event: Trust, Resilience, and Transformation: A Digital Approach to Democracies, New America (Mar 19, 2024)

Conversations surrounding the intersection of democracy and technology did not end with this year’s Summit for Democracy. On March 19, DIGI hosted an online discussion as part of Partners for Democracy Day to explore how democracies can harness digital tools to nurture resilience and merit greater trust in government. The event featured panelists Laura Bingham of Temple University’s Institute for Law, Innovation & Technology, Mike Mora of the Organization of American States, and Alek Tarkowski of Open Future, alongside DIGI’s Silvana Rodriquez as moderator and Allison Price rounding out the panel. The group highlighted examples of digital tools designed in the public interest from around the world. The panelists also explored the potential of digital public infrastructure and cross-sector collaboration. The Global Democracy Coalition, which co-sponsored the event, is an alliance of more than 100 international democracy organizations, many of which focus specifically on tech, such as the Atlantic Council’s DFRLab and the European Partnership for Democracy.

How can Digital Public Infrastructure address the digital divide?

The rise of digital solutions and architecture to enhance the provision of government services to citizens, otherwise known as Digital Public Infrastructure, has well-documented benefits for the field of international development. Yet in a world where 2.6 billion people still lack access to the internet, more work remains to be done to ensure the benefits of digital technology are shared equitably across regions, countries, and communities. As technologies continue to advance at break-neck speed, old protocols for digital development have been updated to reflect the need for radical inclusion, efforts to address complex risks, and ensuring a wide range of stakeholders are involved in designing digital solutions.

Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023, World Bank (Mar 2024)

This month, the World Bank released its annual report on the state of digital technology. The report tracks global progress toward digitalization, specifically looking at how developing countries are creating and using digital technologies across sectors, while also highlighting developments and debates in the policy space. From digital jobs, to the export of digital services, to app development, this year’s report underscores the critical importance of digital public infrastructure, as well as the potentially transformative power of AI. As the report’s authors write, “embracing digitalization is no longer a choice but a necessity, as it holds the foundation and potential to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable world for generations to come.” Yet pervasive digital divides continue to slow progress toward digitalization – in illuminating where and how these gaps come about, this report provides a helpful roadmap for policy makers and private sector actors seeking to enhance the positive opportunities for development offered by digital tech.

Event: Leveraging Digital Technologies to Empower Women, Center for Strategic and International Studies (Mar 5, 2024)

One of the groups most affected by the digital divide are women. During an event hosted earlier this month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, panelists discussed how digital public infrastructure can serve as a vehicle for women’s economic empowerment. By providing the tools and levers for individuals to access financial services, DPI creates pathways for underrepresented groups such as women, girls, youths and the disabled to contribute economically to society, thereby building inclusive and equitable communities. As the panelists noted, advancing gender equality by providing a means for women to access financial institutions and capital is a necessary element of advancing broader development goals. A robust digital public infrastructure that enhances access to digital solutions can play a major role in expediting the development process.

The Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure to launch DPI-as-a-Packaged-Solution, by Yogesh Hirdaramani, GovInsider (Mar 21, 2024)

Growing attention to DPI’s potential to transform development, overcome digital divides, and lift up all members of society has led many international initiatives and governments to develop standardized processes for rolling out and deploying DPI faster. As the field currently stands, lengthy development, procurement, and implementation phases of DPI solutions mean it may take years before these digital transformations actually reach citizens. Yet that all may be changing – this summer, the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure, alongside EkStep Foundation, is launching a DPI-as-a-Packaged Solution pilot in partnership with several countries. The initiative, which relies on open-source solutions, would “put forth DPI as a cloud-ready ‘plug-and-play’ solution that any country can use,” ensuring countries around the world can see the results and harness the benefits of DPI faster.

Big changes for Big Tech?

From AI, to telecommunications, to social media, the world of Big Tech is being shaken up by new legislation, legal actions, and governmental efforts to constrain the power of the world’s most powerful tech companies. While many Big Tech companies publicly support governance initiatives, many have lobbied behind-the-scenes to ensure such regulations don’t affect their bottom lines and ability to operate freely across borders. This year, we can expect some answers to questions about how regional laws, such as the recently-passed EU AI Act and the Digital Markets Act will reshape the way Big Tech operates. We are also likely to see how efforts to decrease the monopoly power of these tech giants play out, which could have massive implications for the industry.

The E.U. Has Passed the World’s First Comprehensive AI Law, by Kelvin Chan, Time Magazine (Mar 13, 2024)

This month, the European Parliament voted to pass the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, marking the final approval of the landmark piece of legislation. Implementation of the Act will now begin, with the law expected to take effect later this year. As the world’s first comprehensive AI law, the EU AI Act will be a key test case for governmental regulation of a technology that has taken the world by storm. In its five-year long effort to create a governance regime for AI, the European Union has taken a human-centric approach underpinned by risk-based regulation. High-risk AI applications will face close scrutiny, with some use cases, such as facial recognition technology, being banned completely under the law. The law also tackles generative AI, requiring labeling for AI-generated deepfakes, which have already been used to foment social unrest and affect political processes. The big question will be how the EU’s law will affect the rest of the world. With governments in the U.S., UK and China developing regulatory frameworks of their own, it remains to be seen how closely the EU’s approach will (or will not) align with other governance efforts.

Under Pressure: Antitrust and Competition Authorities are Now Focusing on Apple, by Megan Kirkwood, Tech Policy Press (Mar 22, 2024)

Also facing heat from regulators is Apple. The American computer and consumer electronics company has been increasingly subject to antitrust lawsuits and efforts to push the company to improve the interoperability of its services. Another recently-passed European law, the Digital Markets Act, will be a telling case for how tech companies will respond to governmental efforts to influence their business models. The Digital Markets Act, in mandating interoperability, aims to create a more open marketplace where smaller companies can gain a foothold. On the U.S. side, Apple is also facing inquiries from antitrust regulators cracking down on Big Tech’s anti-competitive business practices. Looking ahead, we can only expect these efforts to ramp up. As Megan Kirkwood writes in Tech Policy Press, “while antitrust, particularly in the digital marketplace, has been in a slumber, the antitrust and competition policy landscape is now moving toward change.”

Meta Kills a Crucial Transparency Tool At the Worst Possible Time, by Vittoria Elliott, Wired (Mar 25, 2024)

Yet as governments and regulators seek to increase accountability for Big Tech, some companies continue to roll back critical transparency measures. As Vittoria Elliott reported in Wired earlier this month, Meta will discontinue CrowdTangle, a social media monitoring tool commonly used by journalists and civil society actors to track dis- and misinformation campaigns online. CrowdTangle will be replaced by a new Content Library API, whose functionality is much more limited. Meta’s actions come at a critical time for democracy, as countries around the world go to the polls in the largest election year in history. This latest curb of transparency underscores the need for continued governmental and legal pressure on Big Tech to ensure the powerful tools they offer to the world are responsible, safe, and ethical.

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