France’s lower house has adopted legislation banning access to social media for children under 15 and restricting mobile phone use in high schools. The bill, backed by the government, now moves to the upper chamber for consideration.
The European Commission has opened a new formal investigation into X under the Digital Services Act, examining risks linked to the deployment of Grok and the platform’s recommender systems in the EU.
President Emmanuel Macron has called for accelerated legislation to restrict access to social media for under-15s, citing child protection concerns and the influence of platform-driven algorithms on young people’s well-being.
The International Telecommunication Union has released an updated recommendation explaining how connected devices can automatically organise themselves into networks, particularly in environments without central infrastructure. The document was approved in November 2025 and published in January 2026.
The International Telecommunication Union has published an updated overview of global standards related to the internet of things, digital twins, and smart, sustainable cities. The document was approved in September 2025 and released in January 2026 as a reference guide for policymakers, regulators, and technical communities.
The World Wide Web Consortium has published an updated draft of the Web Neural Network API, a technical specification that aims to make artificial intelligence tasks run faster directly in web browsers by using specialised hardware.
A coalition of civil society organisations has launched a campaign calling for the integration of humanitarian safeguards into the deployment of direct-to-cell (D2C) satellite connectivity technologies, citing recent internet shutdowns in Iran as a case that illustrates the risks of large-scale connectivity disruptions.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2026 has launched its Open Consultation Process, inviting governments, civil society, the private sector, and the technical community to help shape the programme and priorities of one of the UN’s main platforms for digital development.
A January 2026 report by the US Council of Economic Advisers argues that artificial intelligence is likely to accelerate economic divergence between countries, with the United States positioned as the main beneficiary under current investment and policy trends.
Backing the European Commission’s Apply AI Strategy, the European Economic and Social Committee argues that reliability, trust and inclusive governance should define Europe’s approach to artificial intelligence deployment.
Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) is a project co-funded by the European Union.
