Regulatory Imperatives for the Future of SADC’s “Digital Complexity Ecosystem”
Date
2017-12-23
Authors
Abrahams, Lucienne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg
Abstract
This article uses a “digital complexity ecosystem” framing to delineate the challenges
facing regulation of the digital economy in the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) region. The digital complexity ecosystem approach, grounded
in the field of complexity science – and in particular the study of complex adaptive
systems (CASs) – is used to illuminate the sources of uncertainty, unpredictability
and discontinuity currently present in the SADC digital sphere. Drawing on
examples from three regulatory areas, namely mobile financial services, Internet of
Things (IoT) network and services markets, and e-health services, the article argues
that SADC regulatory bodies will themselves need to adopt highly adaptive, nonlinear
approaches if they are to successfully regulate activities in the digital ecosystem
moving forward. Based on the findings, recommendations are made on SADC
regional regulatory agendas and, at national levels, matters of concurrent jurisdiction.
Description
Keywords
complexity science, complex adaptive systems (CAS), digital economy, digital
complexity ecosystem, Southern African Development Community (SADC),
electronic communications regulation, economic regulation, social regulation,
concurrent regulatory jurisdiction, mobile financial services, Internet of Things (IoT),
e-health
Citation
Abrahams, L. (2017). Regulatory imperatives for the future of SADC’s “digital complexity
ecosystem”. The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC), 20, 1-29.
https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/23578