Remarks to the International Institute of Communications

Earlier this week, I joined the International Institute of Communications’ Annual Conference remotely to deliver remarks on technology, regulation, and how the public and private sectors can work better together. As I’ve met with policymakers and regulators around the world it’s clear that there is a widespread desire for new approaches to the challenges that we face online.

Building a consistent framework of regulations isn’t easy, but there are reasons to be hopeful. Just this week, the OECD adopted its Recommendation for Agile Regulatory Governance to Harness Innovation, a thoughtful approach to balancing innovation, economic growth, and social goals. Weighing the contending goals will require contributions from organizations, governments, companies, academics, and NGOs. But we can all agree that this is a moment that calls for careful and sensible regulation that builds social trust, promotes innovation, and drives economic prosperity.

Thank you for the invitation to be here — I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe. I welcomed the opportunity to join you today, because we are at an exciting and important moment for the regulation of new technologies.

As we all start to emerge from the pandemic, we’re using technology tools as never before — and seeing a historic acceleration of technology adoption. That makes improved regulation of technology even more important — we need regulatory systems that move faster, that are more consistent, that are even more responsive.

At Google we want to not just make sure that our products comply with laws, but also support laws that help technology work for everyone. From our perspective as a company rooted in science and engineering, and needing to comply with regulations in many sectors, I’d like to touch on three questions:

How have regulations shaped the development and dissemination of science and technology?

How can good regulations support the growth of beneficial technologies?

And what new approaches could make regulatory frameworks even better?

Let’s start by talking about the history of regulation and technology, because while we frequently hear negative narratives about regulation — we don’t talk enough about the times technology policies have gotten it right. And global policymakers have mostly gotten it right — let me give you three quick examples.

Over the past 100 years, global life expectancy has more than doubled because of advances in science and in healthcare. And because policymakers invested in public health tools and social safety nets.

Over the past 30 years, more than a billion people have come out of extreme poverty because of trade and technology. And because policymakers modernized trade rules and promoted innovation.

And over the past 18 months, public-private partnerships helped people adapt to, and get protected against, the pandemic in ways that wouldn’t have been possible even a few years ago.

You all know about vaccines, video calls, and delivery services, but let me tell one more story. At the start of the pandemic, we at Google launched an unprecedented effort with our rival Apple to develop Exposure Notifications. With input from public health and privacy regulators, we used cutting-edge technology to keep data safe and build public trust. Exposure Notifications went on to become the largest contact-tracing tool in human history, preventing millions of infections. The example shows how well-regulated technology can be a powerful force for good.

Of course each new wave of technology also brings its own challenges. While the internet has given everyone a printing press, it’s also enabled the spread of hate speech. We wrestle with concerns over privacy, and we see cyberattacks targeting digital infrastructure.

European Commission Vice President Margarethe Vestager has argued that sensible regulation, transparency, and accountability can increase trust in technology — and we agree.

When we started out, we figured we could do many things on our own. But last week Google celebrated our 23rd birthday and as we’ve matured as a company, we’ve come to appreciate the importance of working with others — and to recognize how regulations can improve practices across a sector, helping, not hindering, innovation.

While outmoded regulations can slow improvements, good regulations and evolving standards have promoted interoperability — built social trust — and stimulated economic growth. The GDPR has supported common approaches to privacy and data portability. And Europe and the US are establishing frameworks for artificial intelligence that mitigate risks while still encouraging innovation. That innovation remains more important than ever as we tackle some of our greatest issues — like climate change, food shortages, and the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

So, to come to my third question, how can regulators of technology best strike this balance? How can you promote trustworthy and beneficial technology while also encouraging innovation and investment?

There is no silver bullet, but it is clear that we all would benefit from regulatory agencies working more closely together and getting input from technical experts and stakeholders. The communications sector has long been a leader in regulatory collaboration.

I’d suggest that working together is as least as necessary for artificial intelligence as it was for the telegraph or telephone. That may mean evolving existing agencies, creating new ones, or creating new avenues for discussion. For example, UK regulators are launching a Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum — bringing together privacy regulators, competition regulators, and communications regulators to help resolve policy tensions.

We’ve seen how international standards-setting bodies can promote better products and services. The internet operates as well as it does due to the coordination of groups like ICANN and the Internet Engineering Task Force.

The regulation of technology offers new opportunities for multilateral government organizations to convene diverse voices — facilitate dialogue — and build common frameworks. While these organizations are not in the business of building technology, they are critical players in ensuring that technology can benefit people throughout our societies. That’s why we’ve supported the Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council, which met for the first time last week, and is working to harmonize approaches between Europe and the US.

Of course multilateral processes can take time — which is why we need a sense of urgency among IIC members to make sure coordination outpaces fragmentation. Because of course ad hoc regulation creates a fractured regulatory environment, increasing the risk of a balkanized internet that stifles innovation, locks out start-ups, and leaves the world less well off and less fair.

In the US, for example, we need national action, not dozens of inconsistent state laws, on these important issues. To take just one example, California’s privacy laws will regulate any European company whose website is visited by a small fraction of Californians, in ways that are inconsistent with the GDPR. We simply need better alignment.

To be clear, that will require tough trade-offs not just across countries, but also across competing policy goals. For example, privacy rules restricting data sharing can clash with competition rules promoting data portability and open access. And rules seeking to promote free expression and access to information can conflict with rules seeking to eliminate offensive content.

Let me share a couple of examples of where thoughtful and aligned democratic regulation of technology would benefit us all.

We continue to believe that we can have responsible content moderation while still having an internet that respects human rights. But that vision is increasingly under threat. According to Freedom House, more than 20 countries suspended internet access in 2021 and dozens more pushed for content rules limiting access to information. There is a growing need for the international community to stand up for human rights online.

Online rules, like offline rules, should reflect enduring democratic values like due process, fair competition, and respect for privacy. The consistent online protection of data is another example of an issue that will require a mix of new norms and new laws — action by both companies and governments.

We came together last week with other leading enterprise companies to announce principles for data stored in the cloud. And the US and Europe are now trying to reconcile their approaches to government access. Given what’s at stake, agreement on these topics is essential.

At the same time, the OECD is working on common frameworks for government surveillance and access to cloud data. The OECD, the largest concert of democracies in the world, brings together members from five continents with not just common economic interests, but also shared commitments to human rights and the rule of law. And the new Secretary General is focused on how democracies can adopt shared approaches to the issues raised by evolving technology.

I get that the democratic work of building consistent regulatory frameworks for evolving technologies is tough. It’s complex, it requires difficult trade-offs, and it’s often thankless work. But the pay-offs — in promoting the spread of technologies that will raise living standards for people around the world — couldn’t be greater.

I recognize the challenges, but having grown up in sunny California, I am also optimistic that coming out of the pandemic we can build better together. We can recapture a spirit of shared prosperity. National and international regulatory coordination will help us develop thoughtful and aligned technology policies that overcome the challenges and make people better off — more secure — and more empowered.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to our conversation.