As we get closer to the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting dedicated to the 20-year review of the implementation of outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20), a new version of the outcome document has been released. We look at some of the main changes compared to the zero draft.
Freedom House finds that while the challenges are substantial, coordinated action across institutions can still help restore a free, open, and secure global internet.
Argentina’s new trade framework with the United States includes a major digital-policy shift. Buenos Aires has agreed to recognise the U.S. as an “adequate jurisdiction” for cross-border data transfers, allowing personal data to move freely between the two countries without additional legal safeguards.
ETSI has published a new Technical Report proposing a user-centric framework that would let individuals control how their data is used in AI-driven digital services. The document introduces the User Information System, a model enabling selective data disclosure and personalised service interactions, marking a shift away from traditional provider-led data practices.
As the Court of Justice of the EU examines a challenge brought by Technius over its Digital Services Act designation, ARTICLE 19 is calling for the case to reinforce, rather than weaken, the fundamental rights obligations applied to very large online platforms. The ruling will help clarify how the DSA’s enhanced due diligence rules should operate for services with significant influence over users and public discourse.
At an event marking ECOWAS’s 50th anniversary, legal expert Priscilla Ankut urged member states to revise the 2005 ECOWAS gender policy. She called for stronger justice reforms, improved accountability, and greater investment in women’s economic empowerment. Speakers also highlighted gaps in access to justice and the need for broader public education on rights.
A group of 127 civil society organisations and trade unions has warned that the European Commission’s planned Digital Omnibus package could trigger the largest rollback of digital rights in EU history. In a joint statement, they say the proposals would weaken the GDPR, ePrivacy rules and the AI Act under the guise of technical simplification, opening the door to wider tracking, less accountable AI systems and reduced data protection, and urge the Commission to halt the process and uphold existing safeguards.
The publication sets out a structured methodology based on recognised risk-management standards, linking potential data-protection harms to each stage of the AI lifecycle. It offers practical measures to address fairness, accuracy, security and explainability, and provides technical tools to help controllers ensure compliance with fundamental-rights obligations when deploying or procuring AI.
The programme offers practical instruction for judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and legal practitioners on how to identify and handle SLAPPs in line with European and international standards. It is built on recent legal frameworks, including Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)2 and the EU’s 2024/1069 Directive, both of which set clear expectations for protecting individuals engaged in public participation from abusive legal tactics.
The Forum will produce practical guidance for DNS operators, cloud providers, and online platforms to improve network-layer, e-mail, and routing security. Applications are open until 12 December 2025, ahead of the Forum’s first meeting in January 2026.
Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) is a project co-funded by the European Union.
