How should progressives look at digital technology, at a time when it permeates every aspect of our lives, societies and democracies? That is the topic of the new report “A Progressive Approach to Digital Tech - Taking Charge of Europe’s Digital Future”, from FEPS and SAMAK.
The main message: Europe can achieve a digital transition that is both just and sustainable, but this requires a positive vision an collective action.
The report details how in the 90s, a choice was made not to create democratic rules for the ‘Internet’, and to leave it up to market forces to decide our digital future instead. It surveys the consequences, which range from stark divisions of power and wealth, to reduced worker autonomy and a distorted public sphere. More fundamentally, we now live in a digital environment we neither understand nor control, both individually and collectively.
The upshot? This is is not inevitable. Europe can decide to do things differently. In fact, the European Commission already has decided to chart a European path for the digital transition in the coming years, and this report aims to stimulate that debate. Given the breadth of the topic, the report offers broad outlines of a European Digital Model for a fair and sustainable digital transition. These can be regrouped under three broad headers:
For the FEPS SAMAK report 'A Progressive Approach to Digital Tech. Taking Charge of Europe’s Digital Future'
Inputs from the report: