COVID-19 highlights ‘life and death’ stakes for greater digital co-operation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, underlining the challenge of managing the digital divide as ‘a matter of life and death’ particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. He further noted the threats that the digital divide might become ‘the new face of inequality’ where social and economic disadvantages faced by women and girls, people with disabilities, and ‘minorities of all kinds’ would be aggravated. To this aim, ‘we cannot reap the full benefits of the digital age without mobilising global co-operation to close digital gaps and reduce potential harms,’ stressed Guterres.