Placing a visible hand on the digital revolution

As we enter the third decade of the 21st century—the digital century—it is time for the public interest to reassert itself. Thus far, the digital entrepreneurs have been making the rules about the digital economy. Early in this decade, We the People must reassert a visible hand on the tiller of digital activity. Will public policy intervene to protect personal privacy? Can our leaders act to preserve the idea of a competition-based economy? And while we catch up to decades of ignoring digital policy challenges, will we also look ahead to establish public interest expectations of the new developments such as artificial intelligence that digital technology opens?

In the 18th century, Adam Smith wrote of the “invisible hand” that governed markets. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the excesses of industrial capitalism resulted in the regulatory imposition of a “visible hand” acting in the public interest. The subsequent combination of capitalism and regulatory guardrails had the laudable effect of allowing the industrial economy to soar while protecting consumers and competition. At the beginning of the third decade of the digital century, it is time to introduce the visible hand of regulatory oversight into the information economy.