DEMOCRACY WATCHUN’s Global Digital Compact Is Looking Like an Authoritarian Dream

By Mercedes Page

This week, global representatives to the United Nations in New York will review the latest draft of the UN Global Digital Compact (GDC). An initiative proposed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a framework for global digital cooperation, the GDC aims to set out shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future and accelerate progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Yet, as negotiations near completion ahead of its expected adoption at the UN Summit of the Future in September, the latest draft of the GDC is concerning. It would consolidate power within the UN, expand the reach of both the UN and national governments over digital matters and ultimately threaten the openness of the global internet.

Since Guterres first proposed the GDC, it’s been met with concerns. The secretary-general and the his envoy on technology seemed to emphasise the role of nation-states over the existing multi-stakeholder model. Critics feared the GDC would undermine established multi-stakeholder mechanisms, such as the World Summit on the Information Society and the Internet Governance Forum, or be commandeered by authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China as part of their efforts to shift internet and digital issues into the multilateral system.

UN consultations on the GDC and early drafts aimed to alleviate those concerns by emphasising the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance—which involves civil society, the private sector and the tech community on equal footing—and the need for the GDC to complement and not duplicate existing mechanisms.

Negotiations among member states on the GDC have been taking place over the past few months. The latest draft, released last week after June negotiations, includes several promising elements, notably, stronger support for the multi-stakeholder approach and language on upholding international law and human rights in the digital sphere.

However, it also contains several problematic proposals.

One is for the creation of a new office within the UN Secretariat to oversee digital and emerging technologies, facilitate system-wide collaboration and implement the GDC. That might sound wise, but, given the plethora of existing bodies already coordinating those issues, it’s unclear why a new office is needed. Moreover, the UN’s resources are stretched thin, and the funds allocated for the new office could arguably be better used elsewhere.