The Digital Counter

How governments move public services onto a screen

Wei Ling Tan2 episodes1 min of audio76 playsEpisodic

Episodes

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S1 · E2Aug 28, 20260:4255 plays Preview

When the Benefits System Goes Wrong

A benefits payment system in another country overpaid, underpaid and then demanded money back. Wei Ling and a public sector auditor trace what failed, from data matching to the appeal process.

S1 · E1Aug 23, 20260:4021 plays Members

What a National Digital Identity Is Allowed to Do

Wei Ling explains a national digital identity from the inside: what it proves, what it is forbidden to share, how consent screens are designed, and what a privacy auditor looks for during a review.

About the show

The Digital Counter is a fortnightly show about digital government: what happens when a service that used to need a queue, a form and a stamp becomes an app. Host Wei Ling Tan spent eight years in Singapore's government technology agency building services for business registration and housing applications, and she explains the work from the inside without selling it. Each episode takes one service or one problem: a national digital identity and what it is allowed to do, why a tax filing portal is prefilled, how a government decides who still needs a paper option, what happens when a benefits system goes wrong, how procurement shapes the software citizens end up using. Wei Ling talks to product managers, civil servants, auditors and the residents who use the result. Episodes run 35 to 45 minutes. It is for people working in or around public sector technology, for citizens curious about what sits behind the login screen, and for anyone who has wondered why one government service is smooth and the next is not.

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