Interoperability: Should Digital Systems Speak the Same Language ?
Status: Ongoing
You can’t comment on a TikTok video via Instagram, or join a WhatsApp group chat via Signal. The systems don’t speak the same language. In other words: they aren’t interoperable. Improving interoperability is seen as a potential way to reduce dependence on big tech companies. In this project, we’re investigating the practical barriers to interoperability and under what conditions interoperability can contribute to digital autonomy.
Why this project?
Interoperability is the ability of systems to communicate with other systems and exchange data. This can occur voluntarily through open standards that benefit multiple parties, or it can be mandated by laws and regulations.
Previous interoperability requirements have led to the phone numbers we now use to call one another, regardless of which telecom provider we use. Email is another commonly cited example of successful interoperability: users of different providers can effortlessly communicate with one another.
Policymakers and researchers present interoperability as a solution to our problematic dependence on big tech companies. Interoperability would make it easier to switch to other providers. It would also lower the barriers for new players to enter the market.
But practice shows that interoperability does not automatically deliver on its promises. Take email, for example. Switching providers is far from easy for many users. Many people remain dependent on their existing email address because it is intertwined with their contacts, accounts, and digital history.
So when can we say that interoperability is successful? Is it enough for systems to be technically capable of communicating with one another? Or does interoperability only fulfil its promise when it actually strengthens competition?
What will we investigate?
We aim to provide insight into which promises interoperability can fulfil in practice, which face obstacles, and under what conditions interoperability can contribute to the societal and strategic goals attributed to it. With this research, the Rathenau Instituut aims to contribute to a better-informed debate on interoperability as a means to greater digital autonomy.
Interested? Get in touch!
The Rathenau Instituut will soon organise an expert session on this topic. Would you like to attend or contribute to this project in some other way? Please contact project leader Wouter Nieuwenhuizen at w.nieuwenhuizen@rathenau.nl.