Telecommunications infrastructure

US platforms signal political shift in DSA risk reports

Major online platforms have submitted their 2025 systemic risk assessments under the Digital Services Act as the European Commission moves towards issuing its first fine against a Very Large Online Platform.

The reports arrive amid mounting political friction between Brussels and Washington, placing platform compliance under heightened scrutiny on both regulatory and geopolitical fronts.

Several US-based companies adjusted how risks related to hate speech, misinformation and diversity are framed, reflecting political changes in the US while maintaining formal alignment with EU law.

Meta softened enforcement language, reclassified hate speech under broader categories and reduced visibility of civil rights structures, while continuing to emphasise freedom of expression as a guiding principle.

Google and YouTube similarly narrowed references to misinformation, replaced established terminology with less charged language and limited enforcement narratives to cases involving severe harm.

LinkedIn followed comparable patterns, removing references to earlier commitments on health misinformation, civic integrity and EU voluntary codes that have since been integrated into the DSA framework.

X largely retained its prior approach, although its report continues to reference cooperation with governments and civil society that contrasts with the platform’s public positioning.

TikTok diverged from other platforms by expanding disclosures on hate speech, election integrity and fact-checking, likely reflecting its vulnerability to regulatory action in both the EU and the US.

European regulators are expected to assess whether these shifts represent genuine risk mitigation or strategic alignment with US political priorities.

As systemic risk reports increasingly inform enforcement decisions, subtle changes in language, scope and emphasis may carry regulatory consequences well beyond their formal compliance function.

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OpenAI adds pinned chat feature to ChatGPT apps

The US tech company, OpenAI, has begun rolling out a pinned chats feature in ChatGPT across web, Android and iOS, allowing users to keep selected conversations fixed at the top of their chat history for faster access.

The function mirrors familiar behaviour from messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram instead of requiring repeated scrolling through past chats.

Users can pin a conversation by selecting the three-dot menu on the web or by long-pressing on mobile devices, ensuring that essential discussions remain visible regardless of how many new chats are created.

An update that follows earlier interface changes aimed at helping users explore conversation paths without losing the original discussion thread.

Alongside pinned chats, OpenAI is moving ChatGPT toward a more app-driven experience through an internal directory that allows users to connect third-party services directly within conversations.

The company says these integrations support tasks such as bookings, file handling and document creation without switching applications.

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New 5G-advanced upgrade boosts UAE connectivity

UAE telecom operator ‘du’ has deployed the country’s first tri-band Radio Remote Unit on the 600MHz spectrum in partnership with Huawei. The rollout marks progress in the UAE’s 5G-Advanced network development.

Improved indoor coverage and faster speeds are delivered through dynamic power sharing and multi-band functionality. The upgrade supports services such as 5G Fixed Wireless Access and Voice over New Radio.

Lower energy consumption and a compact design reduce the environmental footprint of network infrastructure. The deployment aligns with national sustainability goals while improving long-term network efficiency.

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EU approves €1.8 billion clean energy boost through Modernisation Fund

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have approved €1.8 billion in new clean energy funding under the EU Modernisation Fund, supporting 45 projects across 12 member states.

Portugal receives funding for the first time after becoming eligible in 2024, while total support from the Fund since 2021 has now reached €20.7 billion across 294 investments.

Financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System, the Fund targets high-impact projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy, industry and transport, while improving energy efficiency and strengthening energy security.

In 2025 alone, total disbursements reached €5.46 billion, with significant allocations directed to Czechia, Poland, Romania and Hungary, alongside support for Greece, Portugal and Slovenia.

All projects approved during 2025 focus on renewable electricity generation, energy storage, grid modernisation and efficiency upgrades in public infrastructure and industry.

The Modernisation Fund plays a central role in supporting national climate plans, reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports and advancing the EU’s Fit for 55 and REPowerEU objectives, with further investment proposals scheduled for early 2026.

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WSIS+20 highlights deep gaps in global digital access

Twenty years after the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) laid the foundations for global digital cooperation, UN member states gathered in New York to assess what has been achieved and what still lies out of reach. The WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly highlighted how deeply digital technologies now shape everyday life, while also exposing the uneven distribution of their benefits across societies and regions.

Despite major progress in connectivity, speakers warned that the world faces not a digital ‘gap’ but a digital ‘canyon’. While most people live within reach of mobile broadband, more than two billion remain offline, predominantly in developing countries.

Delegations stressed that meaningful digital inclusion depends not only on networks, but also on affordability, skills, institutions, and the ability to participate fully in the digital economy and public life.

Gender inequality emerged as one of the most urgent concerns. Women remain significantly less likely to be online than men, and digital harms disproportionately affect them, from exclusion from economic opportunities to widespread gender-based abuse enabled by new technologies.

Participants underlined that closing the gender digital divide is not only a matter of rights and justice, but also a major economic opportunity with global benefits.

AI featured prominently, with broad agreement that AI must be governed in a human-centred and rights-based way. Several speakers warned of a growing ‘AI divide’, driven by unequal access to computing power, data, and linguistic representation. Concerns were raised that AI systems risk reinforcing existing inequalities unless global cooperation ensures that emerging technologies serve public interests rather than deepen exclusion.

Debates over internet governance revealed both strong consensus and sharp geopolitical tensions. Most countries reaffirmed support for the multistakeholder model and called for strengthening the Internet Governance Forum, including making it a permanent UN platform with sustainable funding.

At the same time, disagreements surfaced over state control, sovereignty, and the future institutional architecture of global digital governance.

Looking ahead, the meeting underscored that digital transformation is no longer just a technical issue but a deeply political one, tied to human rights, development, security, and power. While the original WSIS principles remain widely supported, participants agreed that renewed ambition, financing, and cooperation are essential to ensure that digital technologies, including AI, deliver tangible benefits for all, rather than widening the divides they were meant to close.

Diplo and the Geneva Internet Platform will provide just-in-time reporting from the high-level meeting. Bookmark this page.

For more details about WSIS and the 20-year review, consult our WSIS+20 process dedicated page.

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Vietnam expands 5G and strengthens digital trust

Vietnam’s 5G network now reaches approximately 59 percent of the population, slightly over one year after commercial services launched in October 2024.

Government data presented at Internet Day 2025 show that Vietnam ranks 10th globally for fixed broadband speed and 15th for mobile broadband, reflecting rapid improvements in national connectivity.

Officials described the Internet as a second living space for citizens, with nearly 80 million users spending an average of seven hours online each day for work, education and social interaction.

Authorities highlighted that expanded 5G coverage supports the development of a digital economy, e-government services and a more connected digital society.

Alongside infrastructure growth, policymakers stressed the need for stronger digital trust.

Vietnam is shifting towards clearer legal frameworks instead of reliance on voluntary self-regulation, while prioritising cybersecurity, data governance and protection against online fraud, deepfakes and AI-driven deception to sustain long-term digital transformation.

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Oracle and Google Cloud launch AI database service in India

The US tech company, Oracle, has expanded Oracle Database@Google Cloud to India, making the service available through Google Cloud’s Mumbai region.

Enterprises can access Oracle Exadata, Autonomous AI Database and AI Lakehouse services while keeping data in the region to meet sovereignty and regulatory requirements.

The multicloud offering allows organisations to combine Oracle enterprise data with Google Cloud analytics and AI tools, including BigQuery, Vertex AI and Gemini models.

Customers can modernise applications and migrate mission-critical workloads without sacrificing performance, security or low-latency access.

Oracle Database@Google Cloud is available through the Google Cloud Marketplace, enabling customers to procure services via trusted partners instead of navigating complex contracting models.

Oracle and Google Cloud partners can also integrate the service into broader multicloud solutions.

The launch reflects growing demand for flexible multicloud architectures in India, supporting AI-driven innovation, advanced analytics and accelerated IT modernisation across regulated and data-intensive industries.

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CES 2026 to feature LG’s new AI-driven in-car platform

LG Electronics will unveil a new AI Cabin Platform at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, positioning the system as a next step beyond today’s software-defined vehicles and toward what the company calls AI-defined mobility.

The platform is designed to run on automotive high-performance computing systems and is powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Cockpit Elite. LG says it applies generative AI models directly to in-vehicle infotainment, enabling more context-aware and personalised driving experiences.

Unlike cloud-dependent systems, all AI processing occurs on-device within the vehicle. LG says this approach enables real-time responses while improving reliability, privacy, and data security by avoiding communication with external servers.

Using data from internal and external cameras, the system can assess driving conditions and driver awareness to provide proactive alerts. LG also demonstrated adaptive infotainment features, including AI-generated visuals and music suggestions that respond to weather, time, and driving context.

LG will showcase the AI Cabin Platform at a private CES event, alongside a preview of its AI-defined vehicle concept. The company says the platform builds on its expanding partnership with Qualcomm Technologies and on its earlier work integrating infotainment and driver-assistance systems.

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Europe risks falling behind without telecom scale, Telefónica says

Telefónica has called for a shift in Europe’s telecommunications policy, arguing that market fragmentation is undermining investment, digital competitiveness, and the continent’s technological sovereignty, according to a new blog post from the company.

In the post, Telefónica says Europe’s emphasis on maximising retail competition has produced a highly fragmented operator landscape. It cites industry data showing the average European operator serves around five million customers, far fewer than peers in the United States or China.

The company argues that this lack of scale explains Europe’s lower per-capita investment in telecoms infrastructure and is slowing the rollout of technologies such as standalone 5G, fibre networks, and sovereign cloud and AI platforms.

Telefónica points to recent reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta as signs of a policy shift, with EU institutions placing greater weight on investment capacity, resilience, and dynamic efficiency alongside traditional competition objectives.

The blog post concludes that Europe faces a strategic choice between preserving fragmented markets or enabling responsible consolidation. Telefónica says carefully regulated mergers could support sustainability, reduce regional digital divides, and strengthen Europe’s digital infrastructure.

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BBVA deepens AI partnership with OpenAI

OpenAI and BBVA have agreed on a multi-year strategic collaboration designed to embed artificial intelligence across the global banking group.

An initiative that will expand the use of ChatGPT Enterprise to all 120,000 BBVA employees, marking one of the largest enterprise deployments of generative AI in the financial sector.

The programme focuses on transforming customer interactions, internal workflows and decision making.

BBVA plans to co-develop AI-driven solutions with OpenAI to support bankers, streamline risk analysis and redesign processes such as software development and productivity support, instead of relying on fragmented digital tools.

The rollout follows earlier deployments that demonstrated strong engagement and measurable efficiency gains, with employees saving hours each week on routine tasks.

ChatGPT Enterprise will be implemented with enterprise grade security and privacy safeguards, ensuring compliance within a highly regulated environment.

Beyond internal operations, BBVA is accelerating its shift toward AI native banking by expanding customer facing services powered by OpenAI models.

The collaboration reflects a broader move among major financial institutions to integrate AI at the core of products, operations and personalised banking experiences.

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