Digitalization

The EU still has strong rules for the major digital platforms. However, under Donald Trump and his allies – above all powerful tech CEOs such as Musk and Zuckerberg – the USA is becoming an open opponent of these regulations. 

Digital technology plays a key role in the armed conflict in Ukraine – as a tool for cyberattacks and digital protest, and as an accelerator for information and disinformation.

The German parliamentary election campaign played out on the internet as never before. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, this was certainly necessary, but it brought with it all the evils we have previously seen in US election campaigns: disinformation campaigns and hate speech were used to discredit candidates, paid political online advertising and foreign influence circumvented basic democratic values.

The internet increasingly enables people in Senegal to express their opinions and be part of democracy – this has become clear in digital initiatives such as Sunu 2012 or #FreeSenegal. Senegalese activist Cheikh Fall explains in an interview how important (pan-African) networking is in this context.

Schools made a quick pivot to online teaching in spring 2020 as the pandemic sent kids home to learn. But educators soon faced a host of data sharing issues, as classrooms moved to platforms neither designed for education nor in compliance with privacy laws.

The Covid-19-related switch to online learning in German schools could exacerbate existing educational inequalities, due to wide variations in access and digital literacy at home.

German schools have been slower to embrace digital education than US schools over the past decade, due to concerns about the influence of commercial players and data protection. The Covid-19 pandemic has now significantly increased reform pressure in Germany.

The EU and the US have to navigate bilateral differences and work with like-minded countries to formulate a response to China’s techno-authoritarianism. This effort should go beyond industrial policy towards shaping a positive and inclusive digital agenda.

The concept of ‘digital sovereignty’ has become more prevalent over the last few years, although its meaning remains diffuse. Between Chinese techno-authoritarianism and the U.S. model of surveillance capitalism, Europe is heading towards a third way.

The debate over the data storage model of a coronavirus tracing app shows how the German government’s search for digital infection control tools became caught up between public health officials, privacy experts and the US tech industry.