«We can get lost in politics, when what we should be discussing is policy.»

In this seasons final episode, we’re thrilled to have Ingrid Aukrust Rones, a policy expert with a rich background in the European Commission and Nordheim Digital, shed light on the role of the global geopolitical landscape in shaping digital policies.

Explore with us the dominant influence of big tech from the US to China, and how the EU's regulatory approach aims to harmonize its single market while safeguarding privacy and democracy. Ingrid breaks down the contrasting digital policies of these regions and discusses how the EU's legislative actions are often driven by member states' initiatives to ensure market cohesion. We also chart the historical shifts in digital policy and market regulations from the 1980s to the present, highlighting key moments like China's WTO entry and the introduction of GDPR.

Lastly, we delve into the future landscape of digital societies and the challenges nation-states face within the context of Web3. Ingrid emphasizes the concentration of power in big tech and its potential threat to democracy, while also lauding the EU’s robust regulatory measures like the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.

Here are my key takeaways:
Geopolitics

• our security, economy, the national and international system relies on data.
• How data is collected, stored, protected, used, transferred, retained.. happens as much across boarders as within.
• Data Strategy on this geopolitical level is about creating a digital autonomy, not being reliant on big international enterprises, but for our political system to stay sovereign
• US is based on a liberal, free market model that is very innovation friendly.
• China is based on a very controlled environment, with limited access to their domestic market. Incubation of local companies, shield from global competition.
• The EU is setting the regulatory standard. Freedom is balanced with other values, like fairness or democracy.
• We need to talk about the role that big tech has on the global scene.
• Geopolitical impact on digital policies.
• Ingrid has a role between policy and business, coordinating and finding opportunities between both.
• EU has set the global standard in how we could deal with data and AI from a regulatory perspective.
• Politics are the decisions we make to set the direction for society.
• «Policy is the plan and implementation of what is decided through politics.»
• Cultural differences influence how we perceive, utilize and establish global policies, but also how we work with data in a global market.
• We have an issue if we only think in 4-5 year election cycles for tackling long term issues.

The EU

• Regulation is the biggest tool the EU has.
• «We are always in competition with technology, because technology develops so fast, and legislation develops so slowly.»
• You can see a change in responsibility for enforcement of EU rules and regulations, where implementation is moved from national responsibility to EU responsibility.
• The EU system is not any easy system to understand from the outside.

The rise of Big Tech

• We can go back to the anti-trust laws from the 1980s that opened for much more monopolistic behavior.
• The rise of the internet had a large influence on big tech.
• The liability shield was a prerequisite for social media platforms to gain traction.
• Big tech has created dependency for other organizations due to eg. their infrastructure offerings.
• We need to be aware of that concentration of power in the market.
• Big Tech is not just leading but also regulating the development of the market.
• Bigger companies that are competing with Big Tech, feel their influence and size the most.