Digital Watch Observatory - Digital Governance in 50+ issues, 500+ actors, 5+ processes
eSafety rolls out national support programmes as the minimum account age for Australians rises to sixteen, encouraging healthier digital habits and reducing exposure to persuasive platform design.
A recent survey finds around 30% of US teenagers use AI chatbots daily, prompting fresh debate over the safety and mental-health implications of early and habitual exposure to generative AI.
A new AI model outperformed conventional machine learning models, offering a rapid, low-cost tool for early detection and targeted prevention.
New climate targets aim for a 90% reduction in emissions by 2050, though loopholes for international carbon credits could weaken domestic reductions.
Joint work will explore AI solutions for government departments, education, and the Incubator for AI, including a curriculum-aligned version of Gemini for safe public use.
The law includes sandbox testing, a National AI Development Fund, and a startup voucher scheme to encourage safe AI innovation.
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Analysis
The fundamentals of AI
Understanding the fundamentals of AI explains how machines learn, adapt and perform tasks once considered uniquely human.
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Gaming and Esports: A new frontier in diplomacy
Gaming and professional esports are rapidly emerging as powerful tools of global diplomacy, revealing how digital competition and shared virtual worlds can connect cultures, influence international relations, and empower new generations to shape the narratives that transcend traditional borders.
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What the Cloudflare outage taught us: Tracing ones that shaped the internet of today
Every outage exposes another crack in the systems we rely on, reminding us that resilience must become part of the design, not an afterthought.
DW at a glance
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WSIS+20 Process
The year 2025 marks 20 years since the finalisation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and a review process looking at 20 years of WSIS outcomes implementation will conclude with a high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), in December. This page keeps track of the process leading to the UNGA meeting in December 2025. It also provides background information about WSIS and related activities and processes since 1998.
Explore the Observatory
Digital Technologies
From internet applications to quantum computing, we focus on advanced and emerging digital technologies which are increasingly reshaping our economies and societies.
Clusters of Policy topics
We unpack digital policy by exploring over 50 topics – from access and sustainable development to network security and the future of work – classified in 7 clusters.
Processes
Follow some of the most important digital policy processes, from the EU's work on the Digital Services Act/Digital Markets Act to the UN Cybercrime Ad Hoc Committee.
