Digital trade has become a key battleground in global economic and geopolitical competition. As governments seek to regulate digital technologies and markets, tensions arise between their policy autonomy and the limitations imposed by digital trade rules. The US, the EU, and China continue to shape competing digital governance models, influencing digital trade rules and regulatory frameworks.

‘Big tech’ companies exploit trade agreements and digital trade rules through lobbying and investment. The debate over digital trade barriers often masks deeper struggles over sovereignty, regulatory authority, and corporate power. The global majority faces pressure to align with these dominant frameworks, often with limited policy space in shaping the rules that govern their digital economies. This dynamic reinforces existing power imbalances and market concentration, deepening infrastructural dependencies on a few dominant players.

The authors draw on the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Protocol on Digital Trade (the Protocol), marking Africa’s first digital trade agreement and years of empirical evidence in other regions. While the Protocol aims to create a harmonised regulatory environment for digital trade in Africa, without autonomy to shape policies that benefit Africans, the Protocol risks reinforcing Africa’s position as a rule-taker in North–South relations rather than a rule-maker in the contested global digital trade space. Moreover, its opaque negotiation process raises concerns about transparency, democratic participation, and the prioritisation of corporate interests over Africa’s digital sovereignty and human rights.

South Africa’s G20 presidency presents a propitious opportunity to address the geopolitical and economic asymmetries in digital trade by advocating for more inclusive governance frameworks that empower the global majority to shape digital trade rules rather than passively adopt them. By fostering multilateral cooperation and rallying support for policies that promote transparency, accountability, and the right to regulate, the G20 can mitigate the risks of regulatory capture by dominant global powers, ensuring that digital trade contributes to sustainable, equitable, and inclusive economic development. The policy brief will argue for alternative models of digital trade governance rooted in transparency, accountability, participatory decision-making, and economic justice.