Digital Charter: Can We Regulate the Digital Economy?
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans last week for a new Canadian digital charter featuring penalties for social-media companies that fail to combat online extremism. While the just-released proposed charter does indeed envision increased regulation of the tech sector, its foundation is not content-regulation but rather stronger rules on how companies use data. Leading the way is a promised overhaul of Canadian privacy law to ensure it is better-suited to the challenges posed by a data-driven economy.”
The Globe and Mail, May 21, 2019: “Canada’s digital charter represents a sea change in privacy law, but several unaddressed issues remain,” by Michael Geist
DIgital Charter Derailment
[I]t looks like the expectations shaping the Digital Charter will be derailed very quickly. Why? For at least five reasons.”
“First, the Digital Charter is framed by fears about losing out in the emerging “digital economy,” an economy that depends on our personal data as a resource. But our personal data is only valuable if it can be turned into a private asset, meaning that privacy or ethical concerns will always be secondary.
“Second, the economic value of our personal data depends on it being turned into a private asset, especially if this is a monopoly asset. Data companies – such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber – want as much of our personal data as they can get, and they don’t want to share it with others. “
“Third, financial investors already expect this market concentration and monopoly to happen in the future, which is why so many are willing to bet on loss-making companies now. How else do we explain the fact that Uber’s recent IPO valued it at US$76-billion – higher than Ford’s market capitalization – despite never generating profits.”
“Fourth, monopolies work where there is little regulation, or little appetite for regulation – so it matters what sort of teeth we can find in the Digital Charter. Unfortunately, Canada is very comfortable with monopoly and lacks the drive to pursue strong competition or data-privacy agendas – in contrast to the European Union. So, the notion that a Digital Charter will upend a decades-old pro-monopoly position seems unlikely.”
Finally, what we are left with when it comes to the Digital Charter is really just words, not much else – no regulation, no legislation, no new rights.”
The Globe and Mail, May 23, 2019: “Five reasons Canada’s Digital Charter will be a bust before it even gets going,” by Kean Birch
Government of Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, May 23, 2019: Canada's Digital Charter: Trust in a digital world
Digital Economy in Canada
“This paper presents Statistics Canada’s working definition of the digital economy as well as initial estimates on the output, gross domestic product (GDP) and jobs associated with those activities. The first section provides an overview of the methodology and data sources used to compile the estimates. From there the initial estimates are presented and analysed in context of the total Canadian economy. Finally, the paper outlines some of the limitations of these initial estimates as well as next steps in improving measures of the digitalization of the economy in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (CMEA).“
Statistics Canada, May 3, 2019: Measuring digital economic activities in Canada: initial estimates (24 pages, PDF)
