Multilateralism is having a renaissance.
Professionals and their organizations are in the midst of an era-defining moment, best described as "digital entropy." It is a moment defined and framed by the great rapidity and complexity associated with the global proliferation of new sociotechnical, regulatory and organizational digital governance demands.
A clarion call for comprehension, cohesion and cooperation across national borders to address the opportunities and risks of digitalization has never been more important or more challenging.
Meeting the alphabet soup of new digital laws and policies is a commensurately extensive array of international organizations, institutions and initiatives. There is a spring in the step of the G7, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Council of Europe, and the Global Privacy Assembly, as well as with newer fora such as the International Network for Digital Regulation Cooperation, the Global Online Safety Regulators Network, the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum and the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement, which all have priority workstreams related to the cohering of cross-border digital regulation.
It doesn't, however, get more multilateral than the United Nations. The U.N. has a storied history. It was forged from the embers of the League of Nations after World War II when representatives from 50 countries gathered in 1945 to form a new international organization, which aimed to prevent another global conflict. Nearly 80 years later, the U.N. is now comprised of 193 member states in the General Assembly, one of the U.N.'s main bodies, and the U.N. System, a collection of funds, programs and specialized agencies.
While members of the larger U.N. System, such as the High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence and UNESCO, have demonstrated the influence they can have on the digital governance realm, the main bodies have also made several profound contributions to issues relevant to digital policy.
In 2013, the General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age, underscoring that the right to privacy is a human right and affirming that people's offline rights must be protected online. Its binding Convention on the Rights of the Child outlines the fundamental rights of children irrespective of their race, gender, language, religion, politics, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, or birth and has incredible import today.
Yet, for many years, the U.N. was not typically the forum where policymakers and professionals took actionable influence. Today, however, it has many initiatives afoot.
The U.N.'s most recent and arguably most comprehensive and ambitious initiative is the Global Digital Compact. Now open for stakeholder endorsement, the GDC seeks to create an inclusive framework for digital cooperation to ensure an open, free and secure digital future for all by bridging the digital divide, promoting human rights online and setting global standards for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the GDC signals a concerted step toward establishing a collective governance framework spanning the different digital law and policy domains.
Origins
The GDC was born from the U.N.'s broader vision of multilateral cooperation, particularly in response to global technological disruptions. During its 75th anniversary in 2020, member states recognized the increasing importance of digital technologies and called for stronger international cooperation in digital governance. In 2021, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres published a report titled "Our Common Agenda" in direct response.
The report stressed that the world was entering a pivotal moment as countries faced the challenges of an evolving digital space and its emerging inequalities. The digital divide was one of the main issues highlighted, as nearly half the world was offline in 2021, and this lack of access was found to disproportionately affect women and marginalized communities. The digital sphere also presents new dangers, including cybersecurity threats, misinformation and privacy violations.
Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation laid the groundwork for the GDC. The compact was envisioned as a means to foster an inclusive digital future, anchored in a strong need for universal human rights, and designed to help achieve the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals by promoting digital equality.
The process: Crafting a global consensus
The formal intergovernmental process began in early 2023, led by appointed co-facilitators in Sweden and Rwanda, later replaced by Zambia, which conducted informal consultations with U.N. member states, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders. Those discussions culminated in the release of a key issues paper that identified priorities to address, including data governance, digital inclusion, cybersecurity, and the ethical development of AI and emerging technologies.
At the U.N.'s Summit of the Future in September 2024, the GDC was discussed by member states as part of a larger Pact for the Future, and stakeholders in industries such as academia, civil society, government and technology were given opportunities, although some were reportedly brief, to consult on the proposed language. After Russia's attempt to defer adoption of the pact was rejected, by the end of the Summit, the GDC's text was finalized and adopted. The final version, reportedly drafted with a foundation in multilateralism, international cooperation and international human rights law, builds upon the U.N. Charter and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, presenting a comprehensive roadmap toward a better future.
Key takeaways
The GDC sets out five objectives, summarized below, from which stem specific actions across key domains such as sustainable development, peace and security, digital cooperation, and governance reform. It outlines a commitment to review progress on these actions at the 83rd session of the U.N. General Assembly, with an eye toward accelerating implementation before 2030. Key milestones include securing outcomes at summits such as the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025 and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.
- Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across SDGs. The GDC stresses the goal of meaningful, universal and affordable connectivity for all people. This requires investing in and deploying resilient digital infrastructure, promoting sustainable life cycles into digital technologies, and including the needs of those in vulnerable areas with the concerted effort of addressing structural and systemic barriers to connectivity for women and girls.
Additionally, it aims to support the development of local, relevant content and talent, increase availability and affordability of digital technology in diverse languages, and emphasize that digital public goods and infrastructure are key drivers to inclusive digital transformation and innovation. - Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all. Equitable and affordable access to digital technologies unlocks potential. There is a strong need for a predictable and enabling environment built with frameworks that support innovation, protect consumer rights, nurture talents and skills, promote fair competition and entrepreneurship, and enhance consumer confidence and trust in a digital economy.
These environments enhance productivity, facilitate the growth of e-commerce, improve competitiveness, accelerate digital transformation, and support investment in the transfer of digital technologies to developing countries. - Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights. The GDC commits to respecting, protecting and promoting human rights and international human rights law throughout the life cycle of digital and emerging technologies. It calls on all stakeholders and the private sector to apply the U.N.'s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, establishing appropriate safeguards to prevent and address any adverse impact on human rights arising in the digital space, including the protection of individuals against violations and abuse.
Furthermore, the GDC recognizes that the internet is a critical global facilitator, which must be open, interoperable, stable and secure for all to fully benefit. Internet governance must be global, involve numerous stakeholders and continue to follow the provisions set forth by the U.N. summits in Geneva and Tunis regarding enhanced cooperation.
Key components of this governance include digital trust and safety, which will require collaboration to create a safe and secure online space for all users, especially in areas where technology amplifies violence and exploitation. Additionally, such governance will require the development and implementation of national online child safety policies and methods to measure, monitor and counter all forms of violence and abuse in the digital space.
Because access to relevant, reliable and accurate information and knowledge is essential, the promotion of information integrity as well as tolerance and respect in the digital space is required to protect the integrity of the democratic process and mitigate the risk of information manipulation consistent with international law. - Advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches. The absence of effective personal data protection and privacy norms amplifies the risks posed by the increasing collection, sharing and processing of data.
Data privacy and security through strengthened data governance cooperation with all countries and relevant stakeholders is needed to unlock the full potential of digital and emerging technologies. Enabling open data initiatives can help close digital divides, and investment in public service data systems is needed to achieve sustainable development.
Additionally, the GDC calls for the creation of a dedicated working group tasked with engaging all stakeholders in discussions on developing data governance at all levels and the interoperability between national, regional and international data policy frameworks. - Enhance international governance of AI for the benefit of humanity. AI governance requires a balanced, inclusive and risk-based approach with full and equal representation of all countries, especially developing countries, as well as meaningful stakeholder participation.
There is an urgent need for assessments on the potential impact, opportunities and risks of AI systems on sustainable development and the well-being and rights of individuals. While the immense potential of AI systems to accelerate progress is recognized, it must be governed in the public interest and its application must foster diverse cultures and languages and support locally generated data for the benefit of national and community development, including labor and employment, while respecting international law.
The future of the GDC
At its core, the GDC represents a more collective effort to navigate the complexities of the digital age. While not binding, the very notion of a "compact" suggests an agreement, rooted in shared principles and mutual responsibilities.
These shared principles, however, must be rooted in a shared understanding of how digital technologies should be used and governed. They recall that technology, while often seen as neutral, has profound social, political and ethical implications. By setting global standards, compacts like the GDC aim to ensure technological innovation does not exacerbate inequalities or infringe on fundamental rights.
In the rapidly evolving digital world, the GDC reaffirms the urgency and importance of proactive governance — governance that is necessarily cross-disciplinary and cross-border. It is a recognition that the future of technology is not predetermined but shaped by the choices we make today.
Digital governance is not only a pressing global issue that each nation will need to grapple with, but also one of profound complexity and consequential importance that is deserving of the prioritization we are now seeing at the highest levels of law, policy and industry.
Joe Jones is the research and insights director for the IAPP. Cheryl Saniuk-Heinig, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, is a research and insights analyst for the IAPP.
