The Internet Governance Forum is inviting journalists from the Global South to apply for travel support to cover its 21st annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, from 14 to 18 December 2026. Applications close on 26 October, with selected participants expected to report on digital governance through diverse regional and community perspectives.
UNCTAD expects global economic growth to slow to 2.6% in 2026 and warns that developing economies face growing obstacles to capturing value from emerging technologies. Its latest report calls for coordinated industrial, financial and technology policies to strengthen domestic industries and expand participation in global value chains.
ICANN has appointed Charles Mok as chair and Ron da Silva as chair-elect of its 2027 Nominating Committee. The committee selects candidates for several leadership and advisory roles across the organisation’s governance structure.
Greece has submitted legislation that would prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media platforms from 1 January 2027. The bill proposes privacy-preserving age checks and enforcement through existing regulatory mechanisms under the EU’s Digital Services Act framework.
The European Commission is preparing further scrutiny of AI systems following reported incidents involving loss of control. Recommendations from its AI Scientific Panel call for stronger incident investigation capabilities, closer oversight of models during development and testing, and international cooperation on frontier AI safety.
Indian authorities suspended mobile internet services across part of central New Delhi ahead of protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The restrictions, which lasted 24 hours, came amid mass detentions and legal challenges over the authorities’ response to demonstrations concerning alleged voter-list irregularities.
Türkiye’s new social media regulation, effective from 1 November 2026, draws a clear distinction between children under 15, who will be barred from using social networks, and teenagers aged 15–17, who will retain access under stricter safeguards. Platforms face new obligations to verify ages, remove accounts held by younger children and redesign aspects of their services for teenage users.
The Philippine Senate has approved the SMART KIDS Act on final reading, proposing to restrict minors from holding accounts on digital services classified as high-risk. The bill would introduce age-checking requirements and penalties for non-compliant platforms, but it must still be reconciled with a different version passed by the House of Representatives.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has warned that AI could deepen systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent. His remarks highlight concerns that biassed systems can reproduce discrimination in areas such as policing, healthcare and education.
ISO/IEC 27090 sets out a framework for identifying and addressing security threats specific to AI systems, including data poisoning and model theft. The standard is intended to complement existing information security practices and cover risks throughout the AI lifecycle.
Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) is a project co-funded by the European Union.
