Global Digital Governance

Digital policy is now a global priority, like security and climate change. The 2024 UN Summit of the Future brings the Global Majority into internet and AI governance. The UN Convention on Cybercrime may do the same for cybersecurity. But centralization at the UN may undermine human rights.

The upcoming European Parliament elections are set to be a critical test in the fight against disinformation. With new regulations and AI challenges, how will Europe ensure election integrity?

The European Union should work together with partners in Africa to secure electoral systems against cyberattacks and to prevent the spread of false and misleading information. This is also in line with European interests and values.

Governments worldwide have been adopting national AI strategies to guide the design of policies for enhancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) development. Through these strategies, many countries have expressed AI’s potential for helping combat environmental degradation, but almost none have reflected on the role of strategies in reducing AI’s own environmental impacts. This article discusses this trend and reflects on how public policies could help make AI development and deployment less impactful.

Canadian Bill C-11 and Bill C-18 aim to promote domestic content on digital platforms and support the struggling news industry. Controversies around these bills highlight challenges in digital regulation and their implications for global digital governance.

Governments around the world are trying to tackle “Big Tech”, and in Canada, the government has rolled out a package of digital legislation: Bill C-11 and C-18. But it isn’t without controversy.

The AI Act has finally overcome its latest hurdle in the European Union’s legislative procedure after its adoption by the European Parliament. However, a void in its final version draws attention to the weakening of obligations aimed at reducing AI’s environmental impacts, despite the technology’s severe impacts on local communities, fauna and flora, both within and beyond European borders, particularly in the Majority World. This commentary investigates the opportunities missed by EU bodies to address such impacts during the AI Act debates.