The Covid-19 pandemic has starkly illustrated the divide between developing and developed countries in the ever more valuable realm of data. The data divide between the developing and developed world is multi-dimensional, extending to economic, social, and political aspects of everyday life. This divide leads to the exclusion of developing countries from digital supply chains and creates excessive dependence on leading digital powers.
Can this global data divide be bridged? In this paper, Neha Mishra of The Australian National University suggests that international trade agreements, particularly electronic commerce/digital trade chapters and new generation agreements such as the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), can play a role in bridging this divide. Promoting data inclusion through inward-looking, protectionist measures are a growing trend in several parts of the world. However, Mishra argues that a far more holistic and meaningful approach would entail using digital trade agreements. The agreements can help to build trust through international regulatory cooperation, reduce barriers to digital trade, and create robust mechanisms for supporting developing countries to build their infrastructure for the data-driven economy.