Supranational rules must respect digital sovereignty – the power and authority of a national government to make unfettered decisions affecting citizens and businesses within the digital domain. However, new risks arising from increasingly complex issues such as taxation of global digital companies, inter-dependent cybersecurity, privacy, and protection of cross-border data flows require harmonisation of governance frameworks across countries. Furthermore, only aligned national, regional and global efforts can counter the risks of digital tools being used to perpetrate human rights abuses, data leaks, cyber-attacks and the spread of disinformation within and across borders. And a common indirect risk among countries is the compounding of offline inequalities, which must be met with people-centred approaches.

To be successful, international standard-setting must recognise the varying digital and regulatory capacity levels of low- and middle-income countries. About 70% of the countries that adopted data protection laws since 2010 are low- and middle-income, but implementation proves difficult with few resources. Lack of implementation can lead to higher trading barriers and regimes that are unsuitable to the context. Developing countries must participate in digital trade discussions and help shape the rules that will underpin a growing part of their economies, but African countries account for only 6 of the 75 countries in negotiations on global rules on e-commerce at the World Trade Organisation.

As with the imperative to go green, the choices countries make now in terms of digital investment, infrastructure, regulations, policy and capacity will either lock in digital divides for decades to come or lay the foundations for a future of shared prosperity and well-being.

The global digital transition thus challenges development co-operation providers to adapt and ensure their actions contribute to digital transformations that are inclusive, advance sustainable and green development, and manage the risks and rewards of digital technologies. As stakeholders in these choices, they can also raise questions of rights, power, ownership, protection, fairness and equality that must be addressed to tip the balance towards a just digital transformation.

Leveraging their resources and relationships, official development actors can create partnerships to maximise the returns on limited financing for digital investment, and help low- and middle-income countries shape the global standards they are expected to meet. Development actors must also recognise that digital interventions can have negative consequences and evaluate whether their decisions and interventions use digital tools to maximum advantage.

Overall, development co-operation can tip the balance towards a just digital transformation by:

• Ensuring policies and partnerships power an inclusive digital future

• Supporting national and regional building blocks for sustainable digital ecosystems

• Making digital financing fit for purpose with greater scale, innovation and flexibility

Just nine years remain to regain ground lost in the COVID-19 crisis and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Development actors have a role to ensure that digital transformation serves those aims.