A leading UN think tank has become the latest group to call for the establishment of a definitive rule set to govern online actions and interactions.
Members of the Diplomatic Council, assembled from over 50 nations, have demanded the introduction of a "Global Digital Agenda" that will look to ensure that all parts of society will be able to participate and benefit from the increasing digitalisation of everyday life.
The Council believes that this transition is equal to the Industrial Revolution, with its newly appointed director of emerging IT, internet entrepreneur Gabriele Viebach, saying that the devices and services recently launched by the likes of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google are similar to the mechanical weaving looms of the 18th Century, providing the chance to create completely new opportunities to build supportive communities around the world.
"Without wanting to play down the advantages of the industrialization, the suffering the industrial revolution once brought to millions of people and multiple generations must not repeat itself during the digital revolution," Viebach, whose previous positions include roles at T-Mobile, BEA Systems, and BT Global Services.
The group also called for the complete equality of all nations within the UN General Assembly whilst the course of global digitalisation is fully shaped and formed.
Based in The Hague, the Diplomatic Council, which counts several noted members from everyday society alongside political diplomats, is a global think tank following the principles of the United Nations, and has previously address global topics in areas such as IT, media and marketing in the past.
Previous attempts to construct or define rules governing internet use and actions have proved unsuccessful, with a 2012 ‘treaty’ aimed at giving all countries equal access to telecoms systems and spam blocking obstructed by US, UK and Canada.
