Digital Watch Observatory - Digital Governance in 50+ issues, 500+ actors, 5+ processes
Plus, AI governance updates; Russian and Dutch moves for digital sovereignty, Poland's ban of children under 16 from social media, social media platforms face addiction trial, and Meta found in breach of EU's antitrust rules over AI assistants integration.
As AI reshapes economies and societies at unprecedented speed, the UN has taken a decisive step to ground global debates in independent scientific expertise.
A new proposal in Portugal could significantly reshape how teenagers access popular online platforms, placing parents at the centre of the decision-making process.
A new ruling by the EU sets limits on how platforms can restrict researcher access to data.
State AI laws accelerate pressure on mortgage lenders to govern automation.
Germany is drafting legislation to expand the legal authority of its intelligence and security services to conduct offensive cyber operations abroad.
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Analysis
Moltbook: Inside the experimental AI agent society
The AI agent social network Moltbook is fuelling the hype around autonomous ecosystems while raising security and digital reality concerns.
Analysis
AI in practice across the UN system: UN 2.0 AI Expo
The UN 2.0 Data & Digital AI Expo showcased how UN entities are integrating AI into their work to improve data quality, strengthen governance and enhance decision-making across diverse operational areas.
Analysis
Deepfake pornography, consent, and power in synthetic media
The rise of AI pornography reveals bigger societal risks, where sexual representation becomes detached from lived experience and consent is reduced to a technical obstacle rather than a social principle.
DW at a glance
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WSIS+20 Process
The year 2025 marks 20 years since the finalisation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and a review process looking at 20 years of WSIS outcomes implementation will conclude with a high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), in December. This page keeps track of the process leading to the UNGA meeting in December 2025. It also provides background information about WSIS and related activities and processes since 1998.
Explore the Observatory
Digital Technologies
From internet applications to quantum computing, we focus on advanced and emerging digital technologies which are increasingly reshaping our economies and societies.
Clusters of Policy topics
We unpack digital policy by exploring over 50 topics – from access and sustainable development to network security and the future of work – classified in 7 clusters.
Processes
Follow some of the most important digital policy processes, from the EU's work on the Digital Services Act/Digital Markets Act to the UN Cybercrime Ad Hoc Committee.