Draft:High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation

The High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation was an independent panel convened by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in 2018 to examine international cooperation on digital technologies. The 20-member panel was co-chaired by Melinda Gates and Jack Ma. Its members came from government, industry, civil society, academia and the technical community.

Reception

The report received both support and criticism. A consultation by the European Dialogue on Internet Governance found broad support for its focus on digital inclusion, human rights and multistakeholder governance. Respondents also supported a stronger Internet Governance Forum. Some opposed creating new international mechanisms where existing bodies could be used instead.

Writing in World Politics Review, Stewart M. Patrick said the panel sought to increase the benefits of the digital revolution while reducing its risks. He questioned whether its recommendations would gain political support. He argued that governments were becoming more divided over digital openness and governance.

Trisha Ray of the Observer Research Foundation described the report as a broad account of problems in digital governance. She argued that it offered few practical solutions. She also questioned whether multistakeholder governance could overcome differences between states over security, rights and control of the Internet.

Taťána Jančárková of the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence gave a mixed assessment. She welcomed the effort to establish principles for digital cooperation. She criticised its limited treatment of cybersecurity norms. She also noted a lack of detail on funding and differences between states over the governance of cyberspace.

The German Advisory Council on Global Change identified another gap. Its 2019 report Towards Our Common Digital Future said the panel gave limited attention to environmental impacts and the protection of natural resources. It called for closer links between digital policy, environmental sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Later research continued to examine the panel's proposals. In a 2024 review in World Development, Daria Gritsenko examined the governance gaps identified in The Age of Digital Interdependence. She found that a common framework for global digital cooperation had still not emerged.

Report

The panel submitted The Age of Digital Interdependence to António Guterres on 10 June 2019. The report set out five groups of recommendations. They covered an inclusive digital economy, human and institutional capacity, human rights, digital trust and security, and global digital cooperation.

The Economic Times reported that the panel called for affordable access to the Internet and greater digital inclusion. It placed particular emphasis on women and marginalised groups. The report also called for human accountability in the use of artificial intelligence. It also proposed international norms on digital trust.

The report proposed three models for future digital cooperation. One was an expanded Internet Governance Forum, known as IGF Plus. A second proposed a distributed co-governance system. The third proposed a digital commons model.

Brookings noted that the proposals focused on greater inclusion and trust online. Participants in a Brookings discussion broadly supported those aims. Some questioned whether new institutions were needed. Others favoured strengthening existing frameworks.