The virus has brought the digital future closer

The digital future has long been talked about but the pandemic has brought it a big step closer. For millions, technology has been a lifeline in a new, socially-distanced reality. Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. For the companies, the crisis has not only cemented their market power but provided an opportunity to show that they can be responsible corporate citizens. The pandemic has underlined the benefits of these digital platforms both socially and economically, in helping to fight disinformation about Covid-19 as well as in handling the ecommerce boom. Governments, meanwhile, have looked to Big Tech to help with the development of contact tracing apps. The sector’s advance looks unlikely to be curtailed any time soon. All this presents policymakers with some tricky challenges at a time when many had been keen to restrain the dominance of the big online platforms. The politics of the “techlash” have been made more complex even as the need for action has increased. It will require a nuanced response from regulators.