Abstract:

With the development of digital technology, the world is moving from the network era to the digital era. The advent of the digital era makes the construction of international rules in digital space a proposition of the times with great significance. Digital space is a digital economic and social space with the Internet and other networks as infrastructure, covering different dimensions such as artificial intelligence, data, Internet of Things, network security and social media. The construction of international rules for digital space is not only a necessary choice to cope with the security threats in virtual space, but also has the competitive connotation of the distribution of benefits and the right of discourse within the system brought about by digital scientific and technological innovations in the context of the game of great powers. Therefore, the formulation of international rules in digital space will become a key driving force in the reshaping of the future international order to a large extent, and will inevitably become the focus of the game of the big powers.

Table of Contents:

0 Introduction

1 Re-examination of the construction of international rules in digital space

2 A preliminary exploration of the governance system of digital space

2.1 Understanding "digital space "

2.2 Digital Transformation and Upgrading of "Space"

2.3 Significant Challenges to the International Governance of Digital Space

2.4 Uncertainty of the Governance System of Digital Space

3 Conclusion

With Big Data, cloud storage, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other digital technologies are developing rapidly, the world is moving from the network era to the digital era. If the "cyberspace" in the cyber era refers to an artificial space based on widely distributed and interconnected technologies, the "digital space" in the digital era has a wider range of digital technologies as the foundation of human activities. Compared with the network era, the digital era not only continues the development lineage of the former, but also has different evolutionary dynamics and core issues. In the current wave of the digital era, re-examining the process of international rule-making in cyberspace and looking forward to the characteristics and trends of its future development will help us deepen our understanding and grasp of this process in the long river of history.

1. Re-examination of the construction of international rules in digital space

When it comes to the construction of international rules in digital space, the first thing to think about is that in recent years, when we began to use the terms "digital age" and "digital era" more often, we have been able to understand the importance of the international rules in cyberspace. In recent years, when we have started to use "digital age" and "digital space" more often instead of "cyber age" and "cyberspace", what are the differences in the connotations we give to these two pairs of terms? Conceptually, as the connotation and extension of cyberspace continues to expand, the definition of cyberspace has been gradually generalized, and the two terms are often used interchangeably, but at the same time, when we choose one or the other, there is a distinctly different focus and logic behind it. According to Jeon Gil-nam, the father of the Korean Internet and an inductee of the International Internet Hall of Fame, digital space is a more neutral term than cyberspace, with the former often associated with cybersecurity and cyberwar, and the latter more compatible with the context of the digital economy and digital society; digital space is a digital space that uses the Internet and other networks as an infrastructure, and covers different dimensions such as artificial intelligence, data, Internet of Things, cybersecurity, and social media, among others. The digital space is a digital economy and social space with the Internet and other networks as infrastructure, covering different dimensions such as artificial intelligence, data, the Internet of Things, cybersecurity and social media.

Next, we return to the three fundamental questions of governance - what is governed? Who governs? And where?

Next, going back to the three basic questions of governance - what is governed, by whom, and where? - one can see more clearly the changing times from governance of cyberspace to governance of digital space. From the 1990s to the mid-2110s, international governance of cyberspace gradually expanded from the governance of basic resources, such as domain names and IP addresses, to the social, economic and security fields, such as the protection of personal information, cyberattacks, cybercrime, and the code of conduct of responsible states in cyberspace, and the governance frameworks mainly included the IETF, ICANN, IGF, and UNGGE. The governance model mainly follows the multi-stakeholder framework with the participation of governments, private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and technology communities***, but as the political and security nature of the issues gradually increases, the dominance of governments in the multi-stakeholder framework increases, and the bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms between governments play an increasingly important role.

After the mid-21st century decade, with the Trump administration coming to power as the symbolic node, cyberspace is not only an important area of competition among great powers, but also an important tool for great powers to pursue their strategic goals, especially the technical standards of digital technology, the ethics of artificial intelligence, data and digital trade, supply-chain security, and information manipulation are becoming the focal point of the great powers' game, and there is an urgent need to formulate corresponding international rules to regulate interactions among countries. It is urgent to formulate corresponding international rules to regulate interactions among countries. The governance model of the above issues is a multilateral and multi-party governance model led by state actors with the participation of non-state actors, but compared with the previous stage, non-state actors such as the private sector and the technology community are gradually gaining more and more power based on the resources and power they control.

Entering the digital era, technology and cyberspace have become the two tracks of international governance of digital space, and "cyberspace" here has returned to the narrow definition at the beginning of the article. The essence of global governance is to respond to *** with the challenges, through mutual consultation to reach a collective action, so as to realize *** with the development or maintenance of international security and peace. The formulation of international rules in cyberspace follows the same logic, driven by the motivation of solving problems or avoiding conflicts. On the one hand, it is the question of how to cope with the security threats brought about by the virtual attributes of cyberspace, the core of which is the issue of cyberspace security; on the other hand, it is the distribution of benefits and reshaping of order brought about by digital scientific and technological innovation in the context of competition among major powers, the core of which is the issue of scientific and technological innovation and development. From the perspective of the rule-making process, these two tracks are relatively independent and related to each other: independent of each other because of the different nature of the problem, but at the same time because of the intersection of the elements of the two spaces are related to each other, for example, data is an important part of the governance of the Internet platform for the former, and for the latter is an important part of the competition in the digital economy.

2. A Primer on the Governance System of Digital Space

2.1 Understanding "Digital Space"

It is this knowledge and understanding of space that has led to the development of a variety of technologies and applications, including the "new space" that has been created by the "new space". The first is to observe the transformative impact of the continuous innovation of technology and application on the traditional space; the second is to analyze what kind of new space for human activities is created by technology and application; and the third is to examine and judge the interactions and changes of human social production activities and social relations in these "spaces".

2.2 Digital Transformation and Upgrading of Spaces

At present, there is no clear definition of "digital space" in international sociology and policy circles. The concept of "digital space" has been put forward earlier by Chinese scientists. Wei Fengshi, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that literally speaking, "digital space" refers to the space above the earth where space is digitally constructed for cognition and application. In one of his speeches, he said: "In the past 10 years, I have been thinking about how to incorporate the knowledge and application of space into the track of informationization development, so as to realize the integration of science and technology with the economy, and to better serve the development of human society for the well-being of mankind. Digital space' is undoubtedly a good carrier and a good hand, and it is an important strategic new field that needs to be started in front of us. With the progress of space science and technology, the improvement of cognitive level, the enhancement of utilization capability, the expansion of application development, and the rapid development of modern information technology, all of these are calling to us: the era of 'digital space' is coming." He also emphasized that "digital space" is the integration of space science, technology, applications and services into the development of modern information technology track of a space science and technology front cross new areas.

It can be seen that, in the eyes of scientists, "digital space" is digitized, i.e., relying on satellite detection, communication and navigation and other space communication networks, incorporating big data, artificial intelligence and other new-generation information processing technology, and integrating a variety of traditional sense of the sea, land, sky, air, and all kinds of "cyberspace", including all kinds of space. Cyberspace" is the result of "digitizing" all spaces, including sea, land, sky, air and "cyberspace" in the traditional sense. Its purpose is to use a new generation of information technology to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of human space utilization and development. Therefore, instead of saying that "digital space" is a new space, it is better to say that it is the digital "transformation" and "upgrading" of all spaces.

As Yang Jie, Chairman of China Mobile, said in his keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress on June 28, 2021, "With the accelerated integration of new-generation information technology represented by 5G into the economy, society, and people's lives, a digital space mapped to the real world*** is gradually taking shape. In the future, with people's entertainment, communication, transactions and other life, production activities to accelerate the migration to the digital space, information technology, data elements of traditional human, capital elements of the value of the amplification, superposition, multiplier effect will increasingly appear, and thus promote human breakthrough in the development of bottlenecks, to achieve productivity leap. It can be said that the process of expanding digital space is essentially the process of transformation of economic and social digital intelligence, that is, the process of transforming the real world with information technology and data elements. It can be seen that the digital space is not only a mapping of the real society, but also a *** birth, all aspects of social life will be accompanied by further digitization and intelligent transformation, thus forming a new social form. In view of this, scientists have elevated the development of "digital space" to the level of a major strategic initiative to break the current world space pattern.

2.3 International Governance of Digital Space Faces Major Challenges

The strategic importance of the benign and orderly development of digital space is self-evident. Whether or not we can keep up with the development of the situation and realize effective governance, so as to ensure that the digital space maintains a benign development and truly benefits human beings is a major challenge that the international community is facing in the context of the information age. This is a major challenge faced by the international community*** together in the context of the information age. However, the historical development of humankind has proved that the law of development of any new thing is that both opportunities and challenges coexist. Digital space as the "digital" transformation of all human space, it brings even more unprecedented challenges.

On the one hand, digital space will be a relationship that mirrors the real world***, which means that many governance issues in real space will be extended in digital space. More importantly, this extension is not a simple "copy", but will be "digitized" to produce some new operating characteristics, which will continue to bring new problems. Typical representative of the ownership of data, the real space to determine the ownership is the realization of rights and interests and the basis for effective protection. However, in the digital space, the generation, storage, circulation and transaction of data happen all the time, and it is difficult to copy the logic of the operation of the real space for the ownership of data, which makes the claim of rights and interests and the maintenance of security face a lot of practical difficulties. At present, all parties in the international community are constantly exploring in practice, trying to find an effective solution that can be truly applied to data governance in theory and practice.

On the other hand, the digital space does not dissolve the traditional real space, but rather brings a transformative impact to the real space, which in turn feeds back into the digital space. Typical representatives such as the development and application of AI, although the social application of AI is still in the early stages of development, but its transformative impact on the reality of traditional space has been revealed. In the economic field, AI technology is bringing about changes in the structure of industry and labor force; in the military field, AI technology is setting off a new round of military revolution, which is very likely to reshape the pattern of military power of various countries; in the social field, the application of AI technology has brought about a series of ethical issues, especially in the light of the "human-machine dual intelligence" that human beings may face in the future **existing prospects, AI technology has brought about a series of ethical issues. **In the social field, the application of AI technology has brought about a series of ethical issues, especially in the light of the prospect of "human-machine dual intelligence" that humans may face in the future.

2.4 The Uncertainty of the Governance System of Digital Space

There are many factors affecting the governance system, and there are multiple options for assessing the elements of the governance framework. If we think about this issue based on the global governance framework, we can find that from the current development situation, there is great uncertainty in the future digital space governance system.

First, the concept of digital space governance is uncertain. When the international community began to explore the issue of international governance of cyberspace, it coincided with the global popularization of the Internet, and the logical starting point was the technological architecture of cyberspace, emphasizing the value of its interconnection and interconnectivity, and thus the formation of a mainstream **** knowledge, that is, "no one country or one subject can solve all the problems of Internet governance".

This is the first step in the development of the digital space governance system. International cooperation, especially multi-stakeholder cooperation, should be regarded as an inevitable choice for international governance of cyberspace. Although in recent years, due to the influence of geopolitics, this concept has suffered considerable impact in practice. However, objectively speaking, the inertia of international cooperation is still there, for example, major powers still emphasize the control of conflicts through confidence-building measures; for example, the international community still calls for avoiding the fragmentation of cyberspace in the face of the so-called "balkanization" of cyberspace. China has even proposed to build a "cyberspace destiny***similarity".

But the historical environment in which digital space has developed is significantly different. Rather than being in an international environment that emphasizes "interconnectivity," it has been affected by the intensification of geopolitical games, and digital space seems to have been rife with competition and gaming from the very beginning of its development. Throughout the current 5G, data, artificial intelligence and various so-called "cutting-edge technologies", the technological structure and foundation on which the digital space exists and develops have been the focus of international strategic competition from the very beginning, and the U.S. in particular, for the sake of containment, has made these fields the "main battlefield". The United States, in particular, has made these areas the "main battlefield" out of the need for containment. If such an international environment continues, it is conceivable that it will be difficult to form a governance concept based on basic knowledge of digital space governance in the future.

Secondly, the international governance mechanism of digital space is uncertain. Similarly, with reference to the international governance mechanism of cyberspace, the relatively formed or determined governance mechanism will be manifested in the following aspects: First, the main body of governance is basically determined. For example, the governance of cyberspace involves diverse and complex issues, upholding multi-stakeholder **** with the participation of the practice to play their respective advantages and roles based on the topic; Second, the governance object is relatively clear. For example, regulating the behavior of cyberspace subjects. The international community generally believes that various hazards in cyberspace, such as cybercrime, cyberterrorism and cyberattacks, are rooted in the malicious use of cyberspace by various subjects, and therefore emphasizes the effective constraints on the behavior of various subjects, such as the fight against cybercrime and terrorism, and the promotion of the application of international law in cyberspace, etc.; Thirdly, the goal of governance is relatively clear. The international community believes that the root cause of the differences in cyberspace lies in the development issue. Countries are at different stages and have different demands for development and security. Therefore, promoting development, especially helping to eliminate the digital divide, is the only way to realize development and security.

In summary, the issue of digital space is complex, and there is great uncertainty about the future of digital space. The current thinking on the governance of digital space is more just an observation based on the current reality. However, the effective governance of digital space in the future needs to focus on the impacts of digital transformation on technology and society, the transformation of concepts and perceptions, the integration and shaping of concepts and perceptions, the need to continue to promote the significant innovation of governance tools in practice, and the need to strengthen international cooperation and coordination, and to actively explore the development of governance frameworks to adapt to the needs of the situation.

3. Conclusion

From the perspective of the current development trend, the game of rules in digital space will become the focus of the game of great powers. Compared with other fields, digital space is still under rapid development. On the one hand, the development and application prospect of digital technology has great uncertainty, and policymakers are still immature in grasping and recognizing the risk of technology application, and under the premise of no imminent major security risk, big countries will usually be more cautious about reaching binding international rules; on the other hand, digital technology has a holistic impact on the economic and social development of a country, and it is also important for the development of the country's economy and society. On the other hand, digital technology is of overall and strategic significance to national economic and social development, and international rules are non-neutral, so in order to safeguard their own national interests as much as possible, the major powers will engage in a long-term game of rule-making in the field of digital economy. As the world is in the midst of a century of unprecedented changes, the game of international rule-making around the digital space will become a key driving force in the future reshaping of the international order.

Cite this article as: Lang Ping , Li Yan . The international rules of digital space [J]. Information Security and Communication Secrecy ,2021(12):17-23.

Author's Introduction >>>

Lang Ping , female, PhD, researcher at the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), with a major research interest in international governance and great power relations in cyberspace. Her main research interests are cyberspace, international governance and great power relations. The authors of this article are in no particular order.

Li Yan , PhD, is a deputy director of the Institute of Science and Technology and Cybersecurity of the China Institute of Modern International Relations (CIMIR). Her main research interests include cybersecurity strategy and international governance. The authors of this article are in no particular order.

Selected from Information Security and Communication Secrecy, Issue 12, 2021 (references have been omitted for ease of layout)

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