Digital Watch Observatory - Digital Governance in 50+ issues, 500+ actors, 5+ processes
Plus, highlights from the WSIS+20 Rev 1 document, the EU’s revised Chat Control proposal, an EU-UK-Australia alliance on protecting children online, NYT vs OpenAI, and a look at the week ahead.
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.
AI is now a strategic imperative at CERN, reshaping research methodologies, decision-making, and future high-energy physics projects.
Security researchers warn that growing reliance on agentic AI intensifies governance gaps and complicates recovery efforts when attackers misuse overlooked or poorly managed machine identities.
Open-source Aurora allows national meteorological services and researchers to tailor forecasts to local environments, supporting disaster preparedness and resilience.
The investigation by Anthropic demonstrates how agentic AI now performs reconnaissance, exploit development, and data extraction, replacing human teams and lowering barriers for sophisticated cyber operations.
The rollout builds on Apple Wallet’s growing support for driver’s licences, state IDs and Japan’s My Number Card.
The inquiry by the EU focuses on Google’s ‘site reputation abuse policy’, which may penalise legitimate commercial partnerships across news websites.
Baidu has unveiled two new AI chips, the M100 for inference and the M300 for training, as China intensifies its drive for semiconductor self-reliance.
Must read
Analysis
The AI soldier and the ethics of war
AI is transforming warfare from a human-driven struggle into a machine-guided simulation, raising urgent questions about the future of ethics, accountability, and humanity on the battlefield.
Analysis
The rise of large language models and the question of ownership
Balancing open access and corporate ownership of these models will determine whether AI becomes a shared global good or a private monopoly.
Analysis
Most transformative decade begins as Kurzweil’s AI vision unfolds
Ray Kurzweil predicted AI would change everything. The 2020s may prove him right.
Analysis
Is the world ready for AI to rule justice?
AI is reshaping the justice system with unprecedented efficiency, but true progress depends on whether humanity is ready to balance innovation with responsibility and ethical judgement.
DW monthly
Digital Watch newsletter – Issue 104 – October 2025
Issue 104: In our October 2025 issue, we unpacked new rules for children’s online spaces and examined the global struggle to steer AI. We analysed shifting rare-earth supply chains and what recent cloud outages reveal about digital resilience. We also looked back at the signing of the UN Cybercrime Convention. We also recapped key Geneva events shaping the future of international digital governance.
DW WEEKLY
Weekly #238 Strengthening democracy in the digital age: The EU’s New ‘Democracy Shield’
Plus, highlights from the WSIS+20 Rev 1 document, the EU’s revised Chat Control proposal, an EU-UK-Australia alliance on protecting children online, NYT vs OpenAI, and a look at the week ahead.
DW at a glance
FOLLOW
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.