UNESCO highlights digital crisis governance gaps at WSIS Forum 2026

UNESCO and digital policy experts have called for crisis-preparedness frameworks to reflect the growing dependence of humanitarian response and public services on digital platforms and infrastructure.

The discussion took place on 7 July at the WSIS Forum 2026 in Geneva during the session ‘Towards resilient information ecosystems in times of crisis: rethinking preparedness in digital governance’, organised under WSIS Action Line C9 on Media.

Guilherme Canela, UNESCO Director for Digital Policies and Digital Transformation, moderated the session. Panellists included Ingrid Volkmer, Professor of Media and Communication at the University of Melbourne; Maksym Dvorovyi, Senior Legal Counsel at Digital Security Lab Ukraine; Dr Charles Lewis, Councillor at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa; and Giulio Coppi, Senior Humanitarian Officer at Access Now.

Participants argued that crisis communication now depends on interconnected systems involving social media platforms, AI, cloud services, satellite communications and connectivity infrastructure. These systems support access to potentially life-saving information, humanitarian coordination and essential public services.

Growing reliance on privately operated infrastructure also creates risks involving cyberattacks, surveillance, internet shutdowns, spyware, data exploitation and restrictions on humanitarian access. The panel warned that existing humanitarian and governance frameworks do not adequately cover assets such as digital identities, demographic records and online cultural heritage.

Experience from South Africa highlighted the importance of risk assessments, early-warning systems, clearly assigned institutional responsibilities, multilingual public communication and regular testing of crisis communication systems.

Discussion of Ukraine pointed to a different governance problem. Cooperation between national authorities and major digital platforms reportedly declined after initially increasing in 2022, leaving regulators with fewer mechanisms to obtain transparency or effective responses from companies operating across borders.

The session also presented preliminary findings from forthcoming UNESCO research conducted with the University of Melbourne. Based on responses from more than 200 regulatory experts, 61% said their countries lacked crisis-specific provisions in digital regulatory frameworks or that they were unsure whether such provisions existed.

Most respondents said national crisis communication frameworks did not adequately cover cloud services, satellite systems and other transnational infrastructure. Approximately 70% reported that privacy safeguards during crises were absent or unclear.

The panellists recommended integrating digital infrastructure into crisis planning, strengthening international cooperation and establishing clearer institutional responsibilities. They also called for greater platform transparency and accountability, while warning that crisis-related governance measures must contain safeguards against misuse by governments.

UNESCO said it would continue developing the work through its Internet for Trust initiative. The complete research findings are expected to be published later in 2026.

Why does it matter?

Cloud providers, satellite operators and digital platforms increasingly support services that can become essential during conflict or disaster, but they often operate across jurisdictions while crisis planning remains primarily national.

Governance gaps can affect access to reliable information, the continuity of humanitarian services and the protection of personal data. The preliminary findings, therefore, point to a need for crisis frameworks that cover both physical and digital infrastructure without enabling surveillance, censorship or internet shutdowns.

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