Democracy & Digital Governance: Help or Hindrance? SYNOPSIS COMMENTARY

The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. [...] COMMENTARY IN A hyper-connected world rocked by the Sino-US competition in 5G formats and allegations of digital snooping by Chinese and US tech companies, the Biden administration seems to think that democracy and democratisation unto cyberspace is the solution. [...] For one, doubling down on the reinforcement of democracy at home and abroad avoids a reassessment of how and to what extent democracy in its current — usually Western — form is and is not fit for purpose in a digital age. [...] The US still lacks a national privacy law and has ceded leadership in data policymaking, even if its companies are at the forefront of the digital revolution. [...] Moreover, it could hold space for conversations on what the digital economy and data, as well as regulatory tools such as antitrust laws and data trusts, can and cannot do — and importantly, communicate that to the public.