IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020 - 71

broadband Internet services around the world. Al--
though progress was made on that front, there was
also a growing recognition that this technology was
creating new public policy issues in security, human
rights, legal, economic, developmental, and sociocultural fields.
In 2018, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres convened a high-level panel on digital cooperation to take a
fresh look at this issue. Co-chaired by Melinda Gates
(Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and by Jack Ma (Alibaba Group), the panel looked at ways to strengthen
cooperation in the digital space among governments,
the private sector, civil society, international organizations, academia, the technical community, and other
relevant stakeholders [11].
The report examined what the UN could do to
enhance digital cooperation. It noted the growing number of mechanisms accountable to generate norms,
standards, policies, and protocols in the digital space.
In 2015, the UN Commission on Science and Development identified 680 distinct organizations operating
around the Internet. Four years later, the estimated
number had risen to over a thousand, resulting in an
even more fragmented and diffused data standards
cooperation and governance landscape.
The UN report on digital cooperation refrains from
recommending the creation of a new, stand-alone body
accountable to coordinate the development of suitable
data standards for data value chains and data governance. There does not seem to be the appropriate level
of support to warrant the creation of a new UN based
organization to coordinate data standards (both technical and governance) even though they are understood
to be distinct from Internet standards.

Designing a New Approach
In the absence of a global commitment to regulate data
governance, there is little appetite among stakeholders
to create a new global data standards coordination
body. However, it may be possible to begin through a
regional approach. In a paper entitled "A Plurilateral
Single Data Area," CIGI senior fellows Susan Ariel Aaronson and Patrick Leblond propose the creation of an
International Data Standards Board. The organization
would initially cover Canada, the EU, the U.S. and
Japan but could expand to other nation states. It would
be accountable for devising common technical and
governance standards. The standards would ensure a
high degree of trust in the data-driven economy among
individuals, consumers, workers, businesses, and governments so that all forms of data could flow freely
across borders. The International Data Standards Board
would also be responsible for monitoring the single
data area. Regular assessments would determine if
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participating member states are in compliance with the
standards [12].
Bob Fay, also from CIGI, has also recently proposed
the creation of a data governance body with a broad
mandate.In a recent paper entitled "Digital Platforms
Require a Global Governance Framework," Fay proposes
a new organization structured like the Financial Stability
Board (FSB). The FSB, created after the 2008 financial
crisis, was given a mandate by the G20 to "promote the
reform of international financial regulation and supervision" with a role in standard-setting and in promoting
members' implementation of international standards.
The proposed Digital Stability Board (DSB) would be
composed of a Plenary body which would set objectives
and oversee the work of the Board. It would consist of
officials from countries who initially join the organization.
It would work with standard setting bodies, governments
and policy makers, regulators, civil society, and the big
tech platforms themselves via a set of working groups
with clear mandates that would report back to the Plenary. Funding would come from its member countries alongside voluntary donations and in-kind contributions via
participation in the DSB working groups. It could report to
the International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy,
and Democracy (IGC). The IGC, made up of a diverse set
of 12 countries and over 400 million citizens, has been
active in investigating the behavior of the Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google (FAAMG) platforms,
including their role in disseminating fake news.

Data Standards Task Force
Given the need for data standards coordination to
enhance digital cooperation, the lack of a clear mandate to create one under the UN umbrella, and the fragmentation of standardization activities related to big
data analytics, this paper proposes the creation a new
institution that could be named the Data Standards
Task Force (DSTF). Reporting to the proposed Digital
Stability Board Plenary, it would be similar in structure
to the Internet Engineering Task Force. The DSTF would
be entrusted with a dual mandate: enabling the development of technical standards to create data value chains
and be accountable for the development of data governance standards to properly frame data collaboration
platforms and the FAAMG platforms. The ultimate objective of the DSTF would be to create the required architecture for a "single data zone" where data can circulate
freely between participating jurisdictions through a
series of data collaboration platforms.
Digital cooperation will involve the creation of complex data value chains. Just as with traditional supply
chains for tangible products, each segment of a given
data value chain will have specific roles and responsibilities, which will have to be described and categorized.

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