March Digital Matters

Over the past month, we saw the release of the U.S. National Cyber Security Strategy that spotlighted Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) solutions, growing fascination—and dread—over AI technology developments, and ongoing battles over TikTok ahead of the CEO’s testimony before Congress on March 23rd .

March’s Digital Matters—our monthly round-up of news, research, events, and notable uses of tech—will take a closer look at challenges on the path toward a more equitable digital future and how DPI serves as a tool to get us there.

Organizations across sectors are attempting to navigate the impact of digital innovation and what it means for society. With global internet freedom on the decline, tense geopolitical dynamics only further complicate matters. Whether it's designing digital solutions for government services, advancing online protections, securing an open internet, or building new social media spaces, user accessibility and safety must be prioritized. If developed with best practices and strong governance models, DPI can serve as a healthy foundation for digital development across communities.

Two Events Not to Miss

Addressing digital development challenges will be at the forefront of discussion as leaders gather in Washington D.C., Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia for next week’s Summit for Democracy (March 29 - 30). Conversations will explore how to better harness the power of tech for democracies around the world. Please RSVP to join us online on Thursday, March 30 at 9:30 - 11:00 am ET for Championing Digital Democracy for All: Collective Action from the Technology for Democracy Cohort. We’ll be talking with leaders from Estonia, the United Kingdom, the United States, civil society, and the private sector to discuss priority action areas, including how to support open and secure access to the Internet, strengthen DPI, and implement better tech for good governance.

The following week, please join our New America colleagues at the Political Reform program on Thursday, April 4 at 10:00 am ET for Making Equity Work Through the Federal Government. The conversation will feature former senior leaders from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Domestic Policy Council (DPC), and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) as they reflect on their time in the administration and what it takes to move the country on a path to greater equity and well-being.

How can DPI better support individuals accessing government services?

Governments are increasingly harnessing digital solutions to help deliver public benefits and services. However, transparent and thoughtful design and development is critical in safeguarding users from privacy risks and human rights abuses. Recent investigations into government solutions demonstrate the need for greater algorithmic transparency, human centered design, and data privacy measures. How governments address these challenges will impact DPI’s ability to effectively deliver people-centered outcomes.

How digital public infrastructure supports empowerment, inclusion, and resilience by Vyjayanti T Desai, Jonathan Marskell, Georgia Marin, and Minita Varghese, World Bank (March 15, 2023)

DPI can help streamline government services and benefits through essential functions like digital payments, identity verification, and data exchange. When user experience and safety is prioritized, DPI can enable equitable access by lowering barriers and cost to digital services. World Bank’s initiatives, like the Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitizing Government-to-Person Payments (G2Px), aim to help countries improve services and resilience through DPI development.

Fixing “Clunky” Approaches to Government Software Development by Greg Jordan-Detamore, Code for America (March 8, 2023)

An agile approach to procuring and developing digital solutions can help governments be more responsive to user needs, security concerns, and changing context. However, in-house capacity and expertise is needed to bring greater cohesion and continuity to a government’s digital strategy. With $290 million allocated for digital modernization and cybersecurity improvements in the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 proposal, improving government approaches to digital solution development can help streamline services and better meet the public’s needs.

IRS Plans to Approve Use of Login-dot-gov as Tax Day Nears by Aaron Boyd and Natalie Alms, Nextgov (March 13, 2023)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is planning to implement Login.gov—a U.S. government-operated identity verification system—ahead of Tax Day 2023. When Login.gov is integrated with IRS services, the single sign-on tool will help ease accessibility and security by verifying users’ identities and allowing taxpayers to digitally access documents and make payments.

Migrants must overcome a new barrier at the border: The U.S. government’s terrible app by Daniela Dib and Ann Louise Deslandes, Rest of the World (March 9, 2023)

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection released CBP One—an online portal and app—to manage scheduling requests for migrants and asylum seekers meeting with border agents. Although the app is designed to speed up the process of applying for authorized entry into the country, users report difficulty in accessing services outside of certain areas, app errors, glitches, and connectivity issues. These issues complicate accessibility, especially for those with limited digital skills and resources.

Not magic: Opaque AI tool may flag parents with disabilities by Sally Ho and Garance Burke, Associated Press (March 15, 2023)

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Department of Human Services to determine if the algorithm used by the department discriminates against people with disabilities. Allegheny’s Family Screening Tool, which uses AI to assign families a risk score for children's safety, may potentially use discriminating factors such as race, poverty rates, disability status, and family size to determine risk. While other U.S. states and countries have expressed interest in replicating the algorithm model behind the Screening Tool, the lack of transparency raises serious equity and discrimination concerns.

How can we better protect online users and strengthen the internet?

The internet functions as a global public good, facilitating communications, services, and data sharing and storage. However, growing digital authoritarianism and geopolitical tensions have placed users and foundational internet services at risk. With so much of modern life online, increasing security and combating internet fragmentation can help safeguard users and the internet services they rely on.

A national approach to data protection is critical for more effective digital public infrastructure by Sarah Forland, New America’s Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (March 16, 2023)

Data safety and transparency are critical components for the development of effective DPI. Recent actions from President Biden and Congress show momentum toward prioritizing greater online user protections across the U.S. Some states are already paving the way to better data privacy for millions of Americans, setting the foundation for a safer, healthier digital future.

Biden admin’s cloud security problem: “It could take down the internet like a stack of dominos” by John Sakellariadis, Politico (March 10, 2023)

The cloud is a foundational component of DPI, hosting databases and software tools essential for healthcare providers, government agencies, public services, and financial systems. To better safeguard critical DPI and services, the Biden Administration is exploring a national plan to regulate cloud providers for improved security measures.

Russia’s War Against Ukraine Is Catalyzing Internet Fragmentation by Christoph Meinel and David Hagebolling, Council on Foreign Relations (March 13, 2023)

After invading Ukraine, Russia has taken numerous actions to digitally separate its citizens from the rest of the world by blocking and banning several internet services and platforms, increasing censorship measures, and making Russian websites independent of the global internet. The conflict may lead to increased fragmentation of technical internet governance and infrastructure, threatening the internet’s role as a global public good.

What’s driving the decentralization of social media?

As Twitter navigates service outages and feature glitches, other tech companies are attempting to build the next-generation of social media spaces for users wanting alternative services and platforms. Decentralization is consistently a key feature of these up-and-coming spaces.

Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network by Casey Newton, Platformer (March 10, 2023)

As users continue to grow wary of Twitter, Meta is exploring a standalone, decentralized social network that allows users to login in with existing Instagram credentials. While still in early stages of development and with several unknowns, a decentralized approach may provide users greater interoperability with other social networks and increased control over their experience with the platform. Meta’s project is part of a growing movement to make the next iteration of social media networks more customizable.

Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative Bluesky hits the App Store as an invite-only app by Sarah Perez, TechCrunch (February 28, 2023)

Bluesky, a decentralized Twitter alternative, released an invite-only beta app. Bluesky has garnered some criticism for creating its own protocol to support its decentralized and federated social media space, rather than using the recommended standard already in use on other decentralized platforms. As the movement behind decentralized social media spaces grows, alignment on which protocol to use will impact interoperability between platforms and services.

A social network taxonomy. by Ethan Zuckerman, New_Public (February 19, 2023)

Public debate over how social media spaces should be structured and governed is leading many to rethink the role platforms should play in our lives. In collaboration with representatives from New_Public and Yale’s Justice Collaboratory, Ethan Zuckerman puts forth a social network governance taxonomy to help explain the shifting social media space and guide conversations. The author breaks down four common models into two matrices: who owns the social network (centralized or decentralized) and how it operates (one room with a set of rules or multiple rooms with individual rules).

Please let us know what you think and consider sharing this post. You can reach us at DIGI@newamerica.org or @DIGI_NewAmerica. Want more? Check out the Digital Matters from January and February. Make sure to check back next month for a new Digital Matters round-up or sign up here to have DIGI's Digital Matters round-up sent straight to your inbox each month.