World Dialogue on Regulation

Today’s digital world has transformed individual lifestyles the world over. The computing industry has long been all-digital, the telecommunications industry is almost fully digital and the broadcasting sector is well on the way to becoming digital. Always-on internet access has become the norm, with people spending more and more time consuming digital media than any other medium. Daily lives from China to Croatia are brimming with SMS, e-mail, chats, online dating, multiplayer gaming, virtual worlds and digital multimedia.

Although these technologies mean added convenience and enjoyment for many, regulators and users alike are often a step behind fast-paced innovations in this field. Concerns over privacy and data protection are important examples, as is the role of regulation in relation to content convergence and distribution. Moreover, as the number of channels for service delivery diversifies, the sector’s traditional and less traditional businesses face a number of new dilemmas.

The report is structured in five chapters and illustrated with a large amount of tables and figures. The first chapter of the report, Going digital, explores the meaning and importance of being digital. Chapter two, lifestyles.digital, examines the key technologies and services enabling new digital lifestyles, including higher-speed networks and content distribution. Chapter three, business.digital, considers the challenges and opportunities facing businesses in adapting to fast-paced innovation, before addressing whether a fresh approach to policy-making might be required in light of rapid media convergence. Chapter four, identity.digital, explores the changing nature of the digital individual and the need for greater emphasis on the creation and management of digital identity. Chapter five, Living the digital world, concludes by examining the social impacts of digital technologies and imagining how lifestyles might further evolve in the digital age. The Information Society Statistics in the annex present the latest data and charts for 206 economies worldwide in their use of digital technologies (the Information Society Statistics are not freely available but have to be ordered from the ITU bookshop for CHF100 (about Euro 62) for the electronic version).

In the conclusion the report summarizes the challenges the digital world is facing. The first challenge, Getting There, is technical. The right equipment and interfaces need to be designed to let all devices, and thus users, communicate with each other. The second challenge identified is Ease of Use. The authors rightly remark that in the quest for more possibilities, the user-friendliness should not be forgotten. Regulatory Consistency is the third challenge that is identified. Fast-paced technological change means that regulatory policy must adapt rapidly, but regulators must also remain conscious of the original rationale for regulation. Convergence, competition and licensing policies should not restrict the market but need to facilitate better services for users at a lower rate. A fourth challenge in the digital world is how to strike the right balance between security and privacy. In the fifth challenge that authors focus on the availability of content. What content is allowed in the digital world and what is no longer acceptable. National criteria need to be merged into global criteria that are acceptable for all. The final challenge, 'Create, Access, Utilize and Share', highlights the ability of all people to have equal access to information and knowledge resources.

Although the report provides a wealth of interesting data, unfortunately, it never becomes visionary. Challenges are identified, but directions for solving these challenges are not offered. Especially the challenges for the developing nations in a time of a growing digital divide remain in the background. The role of for example of Open Access models is not discussed. Also at a regulatory level, the report repeats the challenges of media convergence, privacy and security but fails to offer new elements in the discussion. In spite of this shortcoming, the report is essential reading for policy makers.