The Age of Digital Interdependence report published

The UN High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation published a report on The Age of Digital Interdependence which addresses possible ways for technology to help achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It tackles the concept of ‘digital co-operation’ and how it could contribute to sustainable development goals (SGDs) through co-operation on social, economic, ethical, and legal levels to maximise benefits and minimise risks of technology. The report invites different stakeholders to commit to a Declaration of Digital Independence which emphasises that ‘humanity is still in the foothills of the digital age.’ It further pinpoints some of the risks faced by humankind including dangerous adventurism among states, exploitative behaviour by companies, regulation that stifles innovation and trade, and an unforgivable failure to realise the vast potential for advancing human development. To this aim, the declaration calls upon stakeholders to collaborate to fulfill digital development. At the end, the report provides some recommendations on key areas including an inclusive digital economy and society, human and institutional capacity, human rights and human agency, global digital co-operation, and trust, security, and stability. The Report suggests that the Global Commitment could strengthen the implementation of voluntary norms agreed by the UN GGE in 2015, explore ways to adhere to stricter software development norms and achieve more transparency in the use of software and components. The Global Commitment could also play an important role in capacity development and awareness raising, in particular in cybersecurity and resilience against misinformation, strengthening authentication practices among private sector, and improving the digital hygiene of new users coming online. The Global Commitment should complement existing global processes.