EU ministers have endorsed new conclusions on digital competitiveness, calling for stronger skills, wider technology adoption and simpler rules for businesses. While prioritising support for SMEs and start-ups, governments stressed that regulatory simplification must not weaken data protection, online safety or fundamental rights.
The Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB) Q3 2025 report shows solid growth across top-level domains, with total registrations reaching 378.5 million. The report highlights continued expansion of country-code and new generic domains, alongside stable renewal rates for legacy extensions.
The United Nations has launched a new Digital Cooperation Portal, a public platform designed to map global digital initiatives, support coordination across sectors, and strengthen implementation of the Global Digital Compact. The portal is now live and open to governments, civil society, UN entities, researchers and businesses.
A new study from the African Digital Rights Network and the Institute of Development Studies finds that biometric digital-ID systems are preventing millions in Africa from accessing basic services, highlighting systemic exclusion, weak legal safeguards and growing mistrust in governments’ handling of sensitive data.
About two weeks ahead of 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.
UNESCO has published new global guidelines to support judges and court systems in using artificial intelligence responsibly. The framework aims to ensure that AI improves efficiency and access to justice without undermining human judgment, fairness, or fundamental rights.
The EU has opened an antitrust investigation into Meta’s integration of AI features within WhatsApp, assessing whether the move restricts competition for conversational tools. Regulators aim to clarify how embedded assistants affect market access for rivals as generative AI becomes a core part of digital communication.
A new study commissioned by noyb examines how people navigate 'pay or okay' consent models and whether these systems provide a genuine choice. The research finds that most users reject tracking in principle but accept it when no alternative is provided. When a non-tracking, ad-supported option is introduced, users overwhelmingly shift toward it, indicating that current consent structures do not reflect their actual preferences and raise questions about the voluntariness of consent under EU da Sources
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has opened a call for its Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees to nominate mentors for the next cycle of the Fellowship Program, covering ICANN87 through ICANN89. The mentors will guide selected fellows before, during, and after three consecutive ICANN Public Meetings.
Canada has released its first national standard dedicated to accessible and equitable artificial intelligence, offering practical guidance to ensure AI systems are inclusive by design. The new CAN-ASC-6.2 standard outlines processes for fairness, accessibility, and participation, with a focus on supporting people with disabilities and other equity-deserving groups throughout the AI lifecycle.
Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) is a project co-funded by the European Union.
