Study outlining how OECD countries are dealing with the challenges of Open Government Data with a special chapter on the policy context of OGD in the United Arab Emirates.

The UK’s tallest mountain is Ben Nevis in Scotland. Recently, it became one metre taller, standing now at 1 345m rather than 1 344m above sea level. Of course, the mountain did not actually grow. Rather, the team of Ordnance Survey experts who re-measured it for the first time since 1949 were able to do so more accurately because of improvements in technology, and specifically through the use of GPS.

Code is the next universal language. In the 1970s punk rock drove a whole generation. In the 1980s it was probably money. For my generation, the interface to our imagination and to our world is software. This is why we need to get a more diverse set of people to see computers not as boring, mechanical and lonely things, but as something they can poke, tinker with and turn around.

The objective of this report is to provide an overview of progress made in the implementation of the Recommendation to determine whether any further action is necessary in this area.

Algorithms lie at the heart of machine learning, which, in turn lies at the heart of much of modern life–from online shopping to intelligence gathering. But most of us know little about these powerful tools and how they work. Is this wise?

The world has seen more than one industrial revolution and another one is already upon us. We should face it as optimists.

The digital economy is here, and growing every day, sometimes in surprising ways. As ministers gather for major meetings in Paris and Cancun, government leaders should be in no doubt about the key role they must play in securing the digital economy’s future as a driver of productive and inclusive progress.

We are so used to all things digital that we can sometimes lose sight of just how enormous the phenomenon has become, and how disruptive it can be.

Digital innovation is an opportunity—for governments, for business, for the public, and for the way in which they relate to each other.

Digital science and technology are at the heart of major economic, social and–in the eyes of some–anthropological shifts. That is why we need to think about the ethics of how these tools are produced and how they are used.

Digitalisation of goods and services destroys established business models and disrupts existing value chains. New value chains emerge. This is often called disruptive innovation.

The open Internet combined with today’s emerging technologies has launched the information revolution and is powering the global digital economy. Everyone has a stake in that development, both as individuals and in the organizations in which we serve and affiliate ourselves.

The June 2016 OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy in Cancun, Mexico will discuss online platforms. Opportunities coming from online platforms not only create innovative forms of production, consumption, collaboration and sharing between individuals and organisations, but also promote economic benefits and employment opportunities thanks to the digital economy by creating a fast-moving business environment.

On 21-23 June 2016, Ministers and stakeholders will gather in Cancún, Mexico, for an OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity, to move the digital agenda forward in four key policy areas foundational to the growth of the digital economy: Internet openness, digital trust, global connectivity, jobs and skills in the digital economy.

Internet access and use is growing in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), but the region needs to move faster in adding broadband infrastructure, expanding access and services and equipping people with the right skills for firms and households to fully benefit, according to a new OECD report.

Governments must act faster help people and firms to make greater use of the Internet and remove regulatory barriers to digital innovation or else risk missing out on the potentially huge economic and social benefits of the digital economy, the OECD told ministers and high-level officials from almost 40 countries today.

Mexico has become a frontrunner in a short time in making government data publicly accessible, but it now needs to put this wealth of digital information to use to foster innovation and benefit the Mexican economy and society, according to a new OECD report.

Ministers and high-level representatives from 41 countries and the European Union committed today at the closure of the OECD’s 2016 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to work together to preserve an open Internet, close digital divides, promote digital skills and generally do more to seize the potential of the digital economy.

OECD expert consultation co-sponsored by Harvard Global Health Institute, Swedish Vinnova, Canada Health Infoway and Global Coalition on Aging, held in Boston on 5-6 October 2016.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly permeating our economies and societies, and already underpins over 50% of global financial transactions. This event aimed to help policy makers identify and understand AI-related opportunities and challenges.

Browse the last issue of the OECD Observer on Digital economy: Secure the future.

This report provides an assessment of G20 economies’ performance with respect to digitalisation and examines some of the most pressing policy challenges in areas spanning from access to digital infrastructures to digital security to legal frameworks. It includes a set of 11 core policy recommendations that could underpin a comprehensive G20 digital agenda.

At the OECD, ee have started an ambitious 2-year project to examine how the digital transformation affects policy making across the broadest possible range of fields and topics. The objective is to work with governments, business, labour and civil society to develop policies to harness the power of the digital revolution for OECD members and developing countries and unlock the benefits for everyone.

Nearly one in five mobile phones and one in four video game consoles shipped internationally is fake, as a growing trade in counterfeit IT and communications hardware weighs on consumers, manufacturers and public finances, according to a new OECD report.

In 1964 the writer Isaac Asimov predicted life 50 years on: “Even so, mankind will suffer badly from the disease of boredom....and I dare say that psychiatry will be far and away the most important medical specialty in 2014. The lucky few who can be involved in creative work of any sort will be the true elite of mankind, for they alone will do more than serve a machine”.

13/05/2017 - With the frequency and scope of cyber incidents growing significantly, this report provides an overview of the market for cyber insurance as well as the current challenges in terms of data availability, quantification of cyber risks, awareness and misunderstanding about coverage. It identifies potential policy measures to address some of the main challenges to the development of an effective cyber insurance market.

The truth is that human rights are not sustainable, or in some places even possible, in today’s networked society unless public and private actors take responsibility. Governments and corporations alike must commit to design, manage, and govern technologies in a manner that is consistent with international human rights standards.

In Henrik Ibsen’s play, An Enemy of the People, a town is divided over whether or not to clean up the municipal baths following a water contamination report. But a doctor’s good intentions to save the town come up against special interests. In the end, the facts are rejected, the truth reshaped and the water is not cleansed. As for the doctor, he is cast out as the enemy.

Digitalisation has already been under way for about half a century, yet it is only now that everyone is talking about a digital revolution. Why? One reason is the spread of faster and better connectivity. In 2013, about 80% of OECD countries had complete broadband coverage, fixed or wireless.

The first generation of those born into the internet age is already joining the workforce and yet the internet still manages to disrupt. The phenomenon of fake news is one of the by-products of digital transformation and it is worth taking a look at what is new, and not so new, and how it fits in to the rest of what some are calling the “post-truth world”.

The 2017 OECD Forum takes place after a series of political upheavals few would have predicted scarcely twelve months ago. Divides have become more apparent between metropolises and capital cities on the one hand, and towns and villages on the other, between Millennials and pensioners, between the haves and the have-nots, between the best and the rest.

This compendium of good practices was prepared by the OECD at the request of the G20 Anti-corruption Working Group (ACWG), to raise awareness of the benefits of the digital transformation in the public sector, including governance, productivity, economic development and social innovation.

As one of the most dynamic regions in the world with an increasingly diversified economy, an expanding middle class, and a young and literate population, Southeast Asia is well positioned to embrace the ongoing global digital transformation. Digitalisation can spur the much needed innovation and productivity growth across many activities, transform public services, and improve well-being for all citizens.

Mexico’s 2013 telecom reform has brought tangible benefits, spurring competition that has increased access and brought down mobile Internet costs from among the highest in advanced economies to among the lowest.

Internet infrastructure is improving and the usage of digital tools is growing. However, progress is uneven across countries, businesses, and within societies. Broadening access to digital opportunities and helping those lagging behind to catch up would increase the benefits of the digital transformation and help ensure they are widely shared across economies and people, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2017 looks at the potential and risks associated with the rapid development of AI and robots. Their use will bring new opportunities to raise incomes, create new types of jobs and businesses and improve economic and social well-being, but there will be costs and bumps along the way.

The OECD organised a webinar "The Future of Open Government Data in Mexico: Challenges and Experiences in OECD countries". The webinar was open to everyone and seeked to help the Mexican Government to prioritise the definition and implementation of strategic actions that contribute to the continuity and maturity of OGD policy in the short and medium term.

As autonomous and self-taught machines become part of our everyday lives, what sort of policy and institutional frameworks should guide AI design and use? This event brought together policymakers, civil society representatives and AI experts from industry and academia to discuss the role of policy and international co-operation in ensuring that AI benefits society as a whole.

In order to better understand the role and drivers of consumer trust in peer platform markets, the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy conducted an online survey of 10,000 consumers across 10 OECD member countries. This report discusses the findings of that survey.

This report describes key recent developments based on new and anticipated satellite broadband deployments in extending services to underserved areas in relation to other broadband options. It investigates important policy challenges to be considered in light of such innovation.

The OECD organised panel sessions on its Going Digital project, expanding broadband to rural and remote areas, and artificial intelligence.

Mobile broadband penetration is now over 100% in the OECD area and mobile termination rates down by 42% according according to new data released by the OECD today.

This paper examines recent policy and technology approaches to bridging the digital divide in rural and remote areas in OECD countries. It also includes a summary of common challenges and good practices to bring improved communication services to individuals and communities in rural and remote regions.

New digital tools are empowering, and can serve to support a new source of inclusive global economic growth. Now is the time to take use the digital transformation to ensure it represents a leapfrog opportunity for women and a chance to build a more inclusive digital world. This brochure represents a preliminary effort by the OECD, working with the G20, to broaden the evidence base.

More than 110 countries and jurisdictions have agreed to review two key concepts of the international tax system, responding to a mandate from the G20 Finance Ministers to work on the implications of digitalisation for taxation.

This report examines information on consumer protection enforcement authorities of OECD member and non-member countries, especially on the ability of these authorities to co-operate across borders. It is based on questionnaire responses from 31 countries, supplemented by additional research.

There is an argument that the IoT brings new challenges for product safety and that regulatory regimes will need to be adapted. However, others argue that although the products are new, the issues are not necessarily novel and existing regulations are sufficient. This report highlights some key issues that confront product safety policy makers in this important area.

Connected devices and appliances offer added convenience but also bring potential risks such as data privacy and cybersecurity threats, limitations on interoperability, complex supply chains and liability regimes, and product safety. Developing effective responses to the consumer protection issues that arise from the "smart home" will be an ongoing challenge.

Despite the benefits and convenience of e-commerce, the ease and speed with which consumers can engage in online transactions – at anytime, anywhere, and in particular across borders – may create situations that are unfamiliar to them and put their interests at risk. This toolkit provides a set of principles and practices for protecting digital consumers and enhancing trust in e-commerce.

The country profile: pension eligibility ages and other qualifying conditions; the rules for calculating benefit entitlements; the treatment of early and late retirees; personal income tax and social security contributions.