Welcome to Digital Politics

Hi. I'm Mark Scott, a senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council where I specialize in digital policy. I'm also a research fellow at the Hertie School's Center for Digital Governance in Berlin. In a past life, I spent 20 years working as a journalist, most recently as POLITICO's chief technology correspondent.

This weekly newsletter will focus on what I know best: digital policy and politics.

That will include issues like 'how to create rules to make social media a safer place?,' 'what does a global privacy regime look like, and is that even possible?,' and 'are we all freaking out about artificial intelligence for no reason?'

Given my background, these discussions will center primarily within Western countries. We'll delve into how the so-called Global Majority countries are tackling many of these issues, too. But, let's be honest, I'm not an expert in those parts of the world (at least, not yet!)

So my weekly dispatches will mostly look at areas like the European Union, the United States and other countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Don't worry, there's a lot to cover, including how will the EU handle its new digital rulebook?; Is the U.S. ever going to get its act together on digital policymaking?, and How are Western democracies trying to work together on tech policy?

If this sounds up your alley, you can subscribe here.

There are three tiers of access, and I'll be making the first month of newsletters accessible to all before I turn on the paywall on Sept. 30.

Couple of caveats. These are my opinions, based on years of digital policy work, and don't reflect those of my employers. I'm going to make mistakes. If you spot something you think is off, email me on digitalpolitics@protonmail.com.

Let's get started.