Gartner calls for new framework to manage digital society

US-based consulting services and research company Gartner has called for a new framework to structure digital society regulations.

Digitalisation has put existing rules and regulations under stress, and chief executive officers, chief information officers and other executives must collaborate on new rules to protect individuals and groups, Gartner said in a statement.

Digital society refers to the sum of the interactions, information, value and priorities generated between people, organisations and things in a digital and physical connected world.

Over 50% of CEOs of leading digital businesses will openly discuss the impact of technology on society by 2023, according to Gartner. In fact, 100% of companies leading in digital business will have a societal impact.

Governments across the world have, for the most part, been slow in creating a framework for digital regulation and the current rules are not keeping up with the new-age business, Gartner said.

Gartner has now called for a new approach to manage regulations for the digital society. 

“Trust in digital institutions such as social media has declined, concerns about data protection and privacy are increasing, and employee and company activism is increasing. These and other concerns point to disruption of the current self-regulatory-based system of digital regulation and the need for new approaches,” said Mark McDonald, vice president, research, Gartner.

The company said the social structure can be broken into four layers;  digital society, digital platforms, digital business and digital society infrastructure.

Digital society: The sum of information, value, and priorities generated amongst people and organisations.

Digital platforms: Collections of digital businesses that form global value chain systems.

Digital businesses: New business models, ideas and people to drive revenue.

Digital society infrastructure: Includes physical infrastructure and cyberinfrastructure

“Recognising these layers within digital society gives regulators and society a framework to place new tools and options,” McDonald added. 

McDonald gave the example of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation legislation, which is specific about people’s right to personal information. 

“It is a rule that is foundational and applies to every level above it,” said McDonald.

“Alternatively, rules related to digital marketing practices exist at the digital business level. In this way, the levels provide a structure for organising, evaluating, identifying gaps and developing regulation and rules in a cohesive manner.”

The additional analysis of leading digital society will be presented during the Gartner IT Symposium 2019, the company said.