Building better societies through digital policy

Abstract

November 2022 No. 338 2  BUILDING BETTER SOCIETIES THROUGH DIGITAL POLICY OECD DIGITAL ECONOMY PAPERSThis paper examines three key challenges policy makers face in the pursuit of building better societies through digital policy: bridging digital divides, combatting harmful content online and effectively harnessing digital technologies to fight climate change and other environmental problems. This report provides insights into key trends across OECD and partner economies and offers policy actions that can help decision makers tackle these three critical challenges.The paper provides background to support the discussions on Theme 2: Building better societies through digital policy of the Ministerial meeting of the Committee on Digital Economy Policy, taking place on 14-15 December 2022 in Gran Canaria, Spain. It informs the sessions on "Combatting misinformation and disinformation online", "The future of connectivity -investing in high quality networks", "Advancing inclusive digital societies -bridging digital divides and breaking down barriers" and "Digital technologies in the green transition: Friend or foe?" of the Ministerial meeting. This paper was written by Thyme Burdon, Celine Caira, Lauren Crean and Elif Koksal-Oudot from the OECD Secretariat under the supervision of Audrey Plonk, Head of the OECD Digital Economy Policy Division and the advice of Gallia Daor. It benefitted from contributions by Alexia Gonzalez Fanfalone, Molly Lesher and Maximilian Reisch, statistical support from Frédéric Bourassa, and comments from Brigitte Acoca, Karine Perset, Vincenzo Spiezia and Verena Weber. Many thanks to Paolo Veneri and Maria Paula Caldas from the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) for their input. Angela Gosmann and Sebastian Ordelheide from the OECD Secretariat, and Misha Pinkhasov provided editorial support. The Ministerial meeting and related work were generously supported by the Government of Spain. This paper was approved and declassified by written procedure by the Committee on Digital Economy Policy on