Why States Have to Learn From Digital Disruptors

[Commentary] Both the media and governments were empowered by the world of information scarcity. The rise of digital technology-enabled actors such as ISIS challenges the control of media that states once held exclusively during war. The distributed and disruptive nature of digital actors makes them tremendously difficult for hierarchical organizations such as states to counteract. The things that the state would need to do to shut them down would also harm a wide range of legitimate online activity, and run counter to the principles that drive Silicon Valley. Thus a 21st century state needs to be confident enough to give up some control in order to be a constructive player in the new digital world.Three Challenges:
1. The distributed and disruptive nature of emergent digital actors makes them tremendously difficult for hierarchical organizations such as states to counteract.
2. Many of the things that states would need to do to shut down perceived nefarious digital actors (undermine encryption, expand government surveillance, etc.) would also harm a wide range of legitimate online activity and run counter to democratic principles that give states their legitimacy.
3. The current international institutional governance model (UN, ICC, Bretton Woods Institutions) was built by those who held power in the 20th century (states, multinational organizations, etc.). This is therefore disconnected from the groups and networks that increasingly have power now.

[Taylor Owen is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media & Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia]