Global Digital Compact

The Global Digital Compact is the first comprehensive international framework focused on digital cooperation and the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). Annexed to the Pact for the Future—adopted by world leaders in September 2024 at the Summit of the Future in New York—the Compact aims to align international collaboration with the demands of an increasingly digital world.

It was created in response to the growing need to address the ethical use of technology, promote digital inclusion, safeguard human rights online, and regulate emerging technologies such as AI. The Compact reflects a broader effort to ensure that the international system remains effective and equitable in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

The key objectives of the Global Digital Compact include: connecting all people, schools, and hospitals to the internet; anchoring digital cooperation in human rights and international law; ensuring a safe online environment for all, particularly children, through joint actions by governments, technology companies, and social media platforms; establishing international governance of AI, including the creation of a global scientific panel and a policy dialogue on AI; expanding open access to data and digital standards through agreements on open-source models; and introducing the first global commitment to data governance, placing it on the United Nations agenda and requiring concrete actions by countries by 2030.