According to a news report, social media websites Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp were restricted by Turkish authorities in “at least three cities in the southern part of the country for about 48 hours”. This occurrence happened in the wake of the attack launched by Turkey on Northern Syria with data collected by the civil society group [...]

European Digital Rights (EDRi), along with four civil society groups, urged in an open letter to EU member states to conclude the negotiations on the ePrivacy regulation. The letter highlights the urgent need for a strong ePrivacy Regulation in order to tackle the problems created by the commercial surveillance business models, and expresses the deep [...]

 Ciudadania Inteligente and women@thetable launched ‘<A+> Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms’ platform along with the Affirmative Action for Algorithms (Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, & Gender) Declaration. In the focus it has ‘women and girls and all their intersections and forms’ calling for women to be ‘influentially involved in all levels of decision-making before old norms and [...]

The Dutch government has launched a Strategic Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence, outlining goals and actions for the country to take advantage of the social and economic opportunities offered by artificial intelligence (AI). Increasing public-private investments in AI (to support researchers and entrepreneurs) is one of the main action lines. The plan also focuses on [...]

A UN event was convened under the theme Climate Action: Latest Business Technologies for Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on 4 October 2019 in New York, United States. The event which was organised by the Government of Slovenia, NGO Sustainability, and ROTH Capital Partners, was attended by a number of stakeholders including governments, private [...]

Pathways for Prosperity Commission released a new paper on Digital diplomacy: Technology governance for developing countries that looks at possible ways to make cross-border governance of technology work for developing countries. The research suggests that international cooperation is crucial to making the governance of digital technologies work for developing countries. It further pinpoints key technology [...]

NSO group, an Israel-based spyware company, has announced a new human rights policy to embed relevant human rights protections throughout its business and governance systems. This announcement came after repeated scandals, as  NSO Group’s spyware, Pegasus, was found to be used to target activists, journalists, and members of civil society in countries such as Mexico, [...]

The Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), through the Health Innovation Exchange, formed a partnership with ThoughtFocus, a technology services company, to establish an Internet of Things (IoT) Center of Excellence. The center will work with health care agencies, manufacturers, governments, civil society organizations, communities, and other stakeholders to promote the use of IoT in [...]

Apart from the US, G7 member countries have signed the Charter for a Free, Open, and Safe Internet that focuses on combating illegal content and online harms in online platforms. The Charter presents a list of actions that includes upholding human rights online, defending media freedom, protecting targeted groups, improving safety, increasing transparency, improving cooperation, [...]

Germany announced a new strategy related to developments in the field of blockchain technology. The aim of the strategy is to use its potential for Germany’s digital transformation. The strategy states that Germany has become a dynamic ecosystem attracting developers and providers of blockchain-based services, and sees Germany as a base for the development of [...]