The Aspen Project on International Digital Economy Accords (IDEA) envisions an interconnected global digital platform available to all where the freedom to learn, associate, promulgate, and innovate in profoundly surprising ways and to do business without intrusive and unnecessary regulation is broadly enshrined and protected. But a series of threats to this vision exist that require serious responses. The threats include policies and practices that deny returns to innovators and tie market access to extraneous conditions, or deny market competition to promote national champions. Difficulties multiply if there are ill conceived or overly stringent responses to threats to core public interests concerning security, privacy, and theft. Economic and social goals both will suffer if freedoms of use are not honored or deeply accepted. The goals, in summary, are the pursuit of three “freedoms”:
- The freedom to innovate
- The freedom to enjoy privacy, security, and property
- The freedom of information and association
