Outcome Of ITU Global Regulators Symposium: Interview With Brahima Sanou

Heads of national information and telecommunications regulatory authorities gathered in Geneva for an annual symposium, and agreed on global best practice guidelines for the new digital ecosystem. After the meeting, Brahima Sanou, head of the UN International Telecommunication Union Development Bureau answered Intellectual Property Watch on the outcome of the meeting, and topics such as privacy and the digital divide.

The 2018 International Telecommunication Union Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-18) took place from 9-12 July. The outcome document is available here.

At the symposium, regulators, policymakers and businesses debated the impact of the digital transformation in all areas of people’s daily lives and whether or how to extend regulatory frontiers.

The “GSR-18 Best Practice Guidelines [pdf] On New Regulatory Frontiers to Achieve Digital Transformation” issued at the close of the meeting recommend “implementing an agile framework for an innovative digital ecosystem through flexible light-touch, multi-sectoral, forward-looking, neutral and transparent policy and regulatory approaches.”

The guidelines also advise encouraging policy and regulatory measures to facilitate deployment and use of emerging technologies for affordable digital infrastructure and services.

And they suggest creating an enabling environment for emerging technologies, including in areas such as intellectual property rights, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and technological neutrality. According to the guidelines, policies promoting innovation and effective competition should be encouraged, as well as further public participation and consultation in the regulatory process through regulation by data.

The guidelines also call for the necessary frameworks “to ensure privacy and security of government, business, and consumer data.”

The ITU’s Sanou offered responses to questions from Intellectual Property Watch‘s Catherine Saez about the GSR-18 outcome, the importance of the guiding principles, privacy and digital divide issues.

Intellectual Property Watch (IPW): Are the GSR-18 best practice guidelines on new regulatory frontiers to achieve digital transformation meant for national use?

Brahima Sanou

BRAHIMA SANOU: The GSR ITU Best Practice Guidelines are high-level guiding principles adopted annually by the global community of ICT regulators. The Best Practice Guidelines are considered as the core of modern ICT regulation and the expression of collective wisdom of the current bodies in charge of ICT regulation.

The guidelines are meant to provide national ICT regulators and policymakers with a set of guiding principles on topical regulatory matters. This year, the guidelines focus on new regulatory frontiers.

IPW: Are the guidelines the only outcome of GSR-18?

SANOU: The best practice guidelines are one of the main outcomes of GSR. Another outcome that I consider as important is the exchange of experiences, the opportunity to learn from each other and from the latest regulatory practices and technology trends that make GSR a unique gathering. Taking the experience further, we also develop reports and papers that serve to put the discussions into perspective. This year, we developed the AI [artificial intelligence] for Development Series and a discussion paper on setting the scene for 5G. We also released the 2017 edition of the ITU ICT Regulatory Tracker, an evidence-based tool to help decision-makers and regulators make sense of the rapid evolution of ICT regulation.

IPW: Is there any project to start looking into international rules? Are there any international rules concerning the digital transformation in IT?

SANOU: ITU is known to be a neutral platform for discussion. We engage with stakeholders on global and regional ICT initiatives. At ITU, we allocate global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.

IPW: What kind of particular challenges would you say are coming from this digital transformation, and are they the same for all countries? For all stakeholders?

SANOU: We are at the beginning of a qualitative transformation of our economies and societies. All stakeholders of the ICT ecosystem should work together to create an enabling environment for the future and turn the potential challenges of digital transformation into opportunities. Flexible and innovative policy and regulatory approaches can support and incentivize digital transformation. The best practices in this regard would allow us to respond to the changing landscape and address the continuing need for secure and reliable ICT infrastructure, affordable access to and delivery of digital services, as well as protect consumers and maintain trust in ICTs.

IPW: Would you say that data privacy was largely discussed at GSR-18 and which kind of responses to this concern did regulators provide?

SANOU: Data protection and privacy is an important issue to be taken into account as a huge amount of data and personal data will be more and more available. Building trust and confidence is key for the digital ecosystem to flourish.

ICT regulators raised the importance of ensuring that the necessary frameworks are in place to ensure privacy and security of government, business and consumer data, as highlighted in the GSR-18 best practice guidelines. Educating and informing stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities of posting, sharing and making personal data available online calls upon cross-sectoral collaboration and the involvement of the different regulatory agencies in charge.

IPW: Also the digital divide was cited by several panellists during the week. How does this divide play in the digital age?

SANOU: Mobile broadband is booming and promises to reach more people, more rapidly than any other technology in history, while the spread of 3G and 4G networks across the world has brought the internet to more and more people. While network deployment is crucial, the high cost of mobile handsets, connection charges and poor quality of service are serious obstacles to getting more people to enter the digital world.

The expansion of the digital economy worldwide has increased the need for people to develop an array of digital skills. A lack of digital skills is a significant barrier to internet adoption and use, which ultimately leads to deepen the digital divide. In addition, the kind of digital skills required to successfully navigate the digital economy is dramatically different today than the concepts of basic digital literacy that existed even five years ago. Access to the internet is not enough; broadening ICT education to include all levels of education is critical in helping people acquire the skills they need to take full advantage of the internet. Education and income levels are strong determinants of whether or not people use the internet.

IPW: Could you describe the role of national regulators?

SANOU: The regulator’s core responsibility is to implement and administer the regulatory framework to open up markets and create the framework enhance access and connectivity for all. Today, the ICT regulator is evolving towards becoming more of a facilitator, as well as an enabler and driver of collaboration across sectors. The collaborative regulator takes this to the next level by reaching out to other sectors to jointly determine, document and communicate the mechanics of working together and integrating such joint efforts into their regulatory mindset.

IPW: Thank you.

Image Credits: ITU