When Thomas L. Friedman triumphantly declared in 2005 that the world was flat, with the opportunities having been equalised globally, it was considerably premised on new digital developments. This new geopolitical and geo-economic ideology was led by the United States, home to most of the world’s Big Tech. It first sought to redefine development through the field of ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development), and then herald a new dawn for democracy globally, most characterised by colour revolutions in East Europe and the so-called Arab Spring.
Prempting digital regulation
Behind it all of course was a new plan to employ the global reach of digital tentacles, and later data-enabled controls, for economic expansionism. Some called it digital colonisation, due to its extractive nature. The U.S. thereby sought to prempt alarmed national regimes from reconstructing boundaries to contain digital globalisation. It devised a set of digital trade proposals seeking binding commitments from countries to essentially prevent any effective future regulation of Big Tech. For some years now, such digital trade proposals have been the hottest agenda at various plurilateral trade negotiations and at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Countries such as India and South Africa, and some other developing ones, have stoutly resisted the U.S.-driven digital trade agreements juggernaut.
