For 22 years, the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been discussing how to govern e-commerce and the data that underpins it. In 2019, some 74 (now 86) nations began to negotiate e-commerce. These talks are conducted in secret and little is known about how they are progressing. However, WTO members issued a wide range of public comments on both the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce from 1998, when the work program began, to the present. These communications provide context as well as a window into the negotiations.
Recent Publications
Data Disquiet: Concerns about the Governance of Data for Generative AI
The growing popularity of large language models (LLMs) has raised concerns about their accuracy. These chatbots can be used to provide information, but it may be tainted by errors or made-up or false information (hallucinations) caused by problematic data sets or...
Facing Reality: Canada Needs to Think about Extended Reality and AI
Although Canada is a leader in becoming the first nation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, it is falling behind other countries in extended reality (XR) competitiveness. In this paper, the authors look at why Canada is lagging in this area and what...
The U.S.-led digital trade world order is under attack–by the U.S.
This year, America’s digital trade negotiator made a startling announcement at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The negotiator spoke at the behest of U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Kathrine Tai. At the time, Congress and various U.S. regulatory agencies were...