OECD - OCSE: WORLD MUST ACT FASTER TO HARNESS POTENTIAL OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Governments must act faster to help people and firms to make greater use of the Internet and remove regulatory barriers to digital innovation or else risk missing out on the potentially huge economic and social benefits of the digital economy, the OECD told ministers and high-level officials from almost 40 countries today.

Opening the Organisation’s 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting  in Cancun, Mexico, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said national legislation and policies in everything from education to investment were not keeping up with the rapid pace of digital innovation. Countries should address a slowdown in investment in internet and communication technology (ICT), extend high-speed Internet infrastructure and improve digital skills in order to narrow the gap between digital “haves” and “have-nots”. 

“Too many countries are taking a 20th Century approach to a 21st Century technology that is moving faster than any other the world has seen,” Mr Gurría said. “The Internet is profoundly transforming the way we live and work, but we could be getting a lot more out of it. The longer we dither on the digital economy, the less benefit we will get out of it as societies.” 

The digital transformation crossed a critical threshold in 2013 as high-speed Internet reached 80% of people in advanced economies and smartphone shipments overtook conventional mobile phones. This has unleashed an era of ubiquitous mobile computing that has accelerated e-banking, e-commerce and digital platforms for services like ride-sharing or home rental to the point where it is urgent that we act collectively to assess how to best exploit these opportunities.

Four billion people still have no Internet access, and the United Nations has made it a global goal to connect them by 2020. Too few businesses are adopting advanced digital technologies like supply chain management tools that can boost efficiency and innovation. For example, less than 30 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in OECD countries use cloud computing. Prices of access to digital infrastructure and data and concerns over security risks and privacy rights are factors discouraging investment.

While 27 of the OECD’s 34 member countries have a national digital strategy, there has not been enough consultation across borders in drawing them up. More coordination could help resolve difficult issues such as security, privacy and regulatory barriers to peer-platform businesses or services like telemedicine.

The level of Internet openness will also affect the digital economy’s potential. According to the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG)

"One Internet" report, presented at the Ministerial, an open and accessible Internet should generate several trillions of dollars a year in economic benefits. A fragmented Internet on the other hand would weigh on investment, trade and GDP, as well as on the right to free expression and access to knowledge.