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Safeguarding Media Freedom in the Age of Big Tech Platforms and AI: Policy Manual

Anya Schiffrin, Bojana Kostic, Iva Nenadic, Julia Haas, Natali Helberger, Natali, Max van Drunen

Vienna: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (2025), 147 pp.

"With this Policy Manual, we provide guidance for building an information space free from oligopolistic control, resilient to manipulation, and supportive of independent, pluralistic media. This Policy Manual proposes both structural reforms and targeted mitigation measures – focusing on media vis ... more

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State of digital development and trends in Asia and the Pacific: Challenges and opportunities

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 53 pp.

"[...] While mobile broadband covers over 95 per cent of the population, disparities persist. High-income economies lead in 5G deployment and innovation, while lower-income countries face infrastructure, affordability, and digital literacy gaps. The urban-rural divide remains, and women and marginal ... more

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An Autonomy-Based Classification: AI Agents, Liability and Lessons from the Automated Vehicles Act

Lisa Soder, Julia Smakman, Connor Dunlop, Oliver Sussman

Berlin: Interface; Ada Lovelace Institute (2025), 28 pp.

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Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative: Closing the digital infrastructure investment gap by 2030

Geneva: ITU (2025), vi, 37 pp.

"This white paper summarizes the outcomes of the initial phase of the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII), launched in 2024 by the ITU in collaboration with the International and Regional Development Finance community, and in coordination with the G20 Brazil Presidency. The initiativ ... e also benefitted from the advice and feedback of over 40 organizations who comprised the DIII Working Group. The aims of the DIII in its initial stage are: i) Understand the digital infrastructure investment gap and opportunity: Despite the increase in internet usage in recent years, 35% of the global population does not use the internet at sufficient speeds. This percentage increases to 54% in low and lower-middle-income countries, primarily due to the absence of necessary infrastructure. Developing this infrastructure is estimated to require at least USD 1.6 trillion, according to high-level calculations by the DIII. ii) Develop a framework that describes the key areas that need to be addressed to increase investment and measure a country’s digital infrastructure investment readiness: By exploring the factors affecting investments, the DIII has identified five archetypal challenges that hinder investments in digital infrastructure. These challenges are demand fragmentation, significant gaps in core infrastructure, unclear digital agendas and policies, execution risks, and country risks. The presence and significance of these challenges depend on the context. iii) Identify innovative financing mechanisms and instruments that international organizations and private or public plurilateral/multilateral financing institutions can implement to accelerate reaching the target of universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030: Closing the digital infrastructure investment gap will necessitate the identification and deployment of innovative financing mechanisms and instruments. Through a series of discussions, the DIII has identified a range of initiatives, including platforms for pooled digital investments and technical forums designed to enhance coordination and share best practices. Detailed in the report, these initiatives aim to enable stakeholders to improve coordination and collaboratively finance infrastructure projects. With this document, the initiative aims to inspire multistakeholder solutions through innovative financing of digital infrastructure, moving toward the goal of providing universal, meaningful connectivity to the 2.6 billion unconnected individuals across the world by 2030." (Executive summary) more

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An overview of digital service taxation

raul Katz

Geneva: ITU (2025), xi, 36 pp.

"The study’s first major conclusion is that taxes imposed both on operators and on consumers remain in place in many countries around the world. At least 74 countries impose taxes on service providers, whether environmentally related, import duties on equipment or VAT on equipment purchases. Simil ... arly, 145 countries impose VAT on mobile services, while 74 apply import duties on mobile devices. Secondly, some nuanced geographic patterns in terms of taxation approaches can be teased out from the data. The group of countries exempting equipment purchases from taxation include advanced economies and some less developed countries. This would indicate that this group is not only composed of countries that do not require equipment taxation to increase revenues but also countries that prioritize maximization of network coverage (stimulated by lower equipment taxes) over tax collection. That said, there appears to be countries, mostly concentrated in the developing world, with some middle-income economies, that still prioritize tax collection from import duties on equipment. Thirdly, unlike with network equipment, many countries were identified that exempt consumer devices from import duty or device-specific taxes. Furthermore, several developing countries were found to tax the import of devices at an extremely high rate. However, some countries have established consumer device taxation approaches aimed at reducing the purchasing acquisition cost. At the other end, some countries appear to have imposed high taxation on consumer devices. In addition to taxes on devices, affordability of telecommunications/ICTs for consumers is affected by VAT paid on mobile telecommunications services, a fairly common practice across countries. Of all services to which VAT is applied, the most prevalent service is outgoing international traffic, where rates range between 2.75 per cent and 20 per cent. Finally, many countries have enacted a digital service tax to address perceived gaps in corporate income-tax systems. This approach imposes a tax on gross receipts derived from digital advertising, data mining and other types of digital platform revenue. A few countries have already implemented national approaches aimed at tackling profit shifting by digital platforms. While many countries did not report the application of digital service taxes in the ITU Tariff Policies Survey, of the 115 nations that provided a response, only 17 reported applying a digital service tax, and the percentage applied varies from 3% (Fance) to 21% (Argentina). This limited evidence prevents us from understanding what the current trend is in this domain." (Conclusion) more

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AI in Africa: A Landscape Study

Rachel Adams, Fola Adeleke, Leah Junck, Samule Segun, Ayantola Alayande, Selamawit Abdella, Mark Gaffley, Fabio Andres Diaz Pabon, Funbi Salami

Global Center on AI Governance; African Observatory on Responsible AI (2025), 44 pp.

"Though comprehensive AI regulation is still nascent in Africa, there is an increased focus on national AI strategies, ethical guidelines and international collaborations. Over 40 countries have already established data protection and privacy laws, creating opportunities for harmonised regulations a ... nd a supportive environment for AI innovation. Key continental governance instruments and initiatives also include the African Union’s AI Strategy, the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This report found that the increasing application of AI in key sectors across Africa, such as health, education, finance, agriculture, public services and the environment, necessitates a collaborative approach to ethical AI development and use. This requires addressing persistent infrastructural gaps, developing regional regulatory frameworks, investments in AI research and capacity building efforts as well as promoting multi-stakeholder AI governance initiatives. Key strategies identified include joint investment and funding, pooling resources and supporting sustainable and fair open-source projects, which will help direct efforts toward innovation and regional independence. Open Source AI models are particularly important in Africa where local tech startups can leverage global open-source initiatives to build context-specific solutions. However, concerns regarding data ownership, privacy and ethical AI deployment call for more robust policies for open source AI on the continent. To foster responsible AI innovation, African countries should establish comprehensive AI governance frameworks while adhering to existing laws as well as strengthen regulatory institutions to provide oversight over AI technologies. Regulatory sandboxing also offers a viable approach to enable sage experimentation with appropriate oversight. Regional and international cooperation as well as leveraging public-private partnerships can promote funding for expanding AI research and development initiatives, resolve talent shortages and promote infrastructure development. Africa has a unique opportunity to leverage AI, along with its resources and local young talent, for socioeconomic development. However, to ensure inclusivity and sustainable innovation, it is essential to address infrastructure challenges and establish regulatory frameworks that protect societal wellbeing. Embracing collaborative efforts, including open source initiatives, regional and international partnerships are critical for achieving the continent’s ambitious goals without leaving anyone behind." (Executive Summaty, page 3) more

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The revised SADC toolkit on universal access funding and universal service fund implementation 2024

Kerron Edmunson

Geneva: ITU (2025), xi, 76 pp.

"In 2011, working with the Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA),1 the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in cooperation with the European Commission (EC) published a toolkit on universal access funding and universal service implementation to provide guidance o ... more

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Information Ecosystems and Troubled Democracy: The State of Knowledge on News Media, AI, and Data Governance

Robin Mansell, Flavia Durach, Matthias C. Kettemann, Théophile Lenoir, Rob Procter, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Emily Tucker

Göteborg: Nordicom, University of Gothenburg; Observatory on Information and Democracy (2025), 305 pp.

"A critical assessment of why today’s information ecosystems are troubling for democracy, this book, based on research in the Global North and Global Majority World, examines changes in news media, artificial intelligence, and data governance. It focuses on measures to improve the quality of publi ... more

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Governing AI for Humanity
Deep Insights

High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence

United Nations (2024), 100 pp.

"This report outlines a blueprint for addressing AI-related risks and sharing its transformative potential globally, including by: urging the UN to lay the foundations of the first globally inclusive and distributed architecture for AI governance based on international cooperation; proposin ... more

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Global Index on Responsible AI 2024
Deep Insights

Rachel Adams, Fola Adeleke, Ana Florido, Larissa Galdino de Magalhães Santos, Nicolás Grossman, Leah Junck, Kelly Stone

Global Center on AI Governance (2024), 62 pp.

"The First Edition of the GlRAI revealed that global progress toward responsible AI is lagging far behind the development and adoption of AI. There are major gaps across many parts of the world and in many core areas of responsible AI, especially those areas related to protecting the rights of vuln ... more

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Media freedom and journalist safety in the UK Online Safety Act

Ricki-Lee Gerbrandt

Journal of Media Law, volume 15, issue 2 (2024), pp. 179-212

"In the digital era, journalists are targeted with online abuse including serious threats of violence. These censorship tactics are a direct threat to media freedom. Although the UK Government intended to tackle online abuse of journalists in the Online Safety Act 2023, provisions fit for that purpo ... more

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Challenges and opportunities for using universal service funds to bridge the digital divide

Geneva: ITU (2024), 10 pp.

"This document presents the joint interim (annual) deliverable for Question 4/1, “Economic aspects of national telecommunications/ICTs”, and Question 5/1, “Telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas”. It concerns the challenges and opportunities associated with using universal servic ... more

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Online Content Regulation in the Asia-Pacific: Limiting Civil Society’s Capacity to Hold Governments Accountable

Bangkog: Asia Centre (2024), v, 37 pp.

"Governments have updated penal codes and national security laws, enacted fake news and cybersecurity laws as well as laws that govern internet service providers and technology companies. These laws have widely been used to block and remove online content that call out blind spots in government poli ... cies and to intimidate and prosecute these content creators through hefty fines and jail time. Efforts to hold political office holders and government officials accountable for their policies are increasingly penalised. These government actions have significantly impacted civil society actors in numerous ways. First, individuals and organisations utilising the online sphere to hold government officials and policies accountable have come under intense scrutiny, resulting in the criminalisation of critics and the blocking and removal of online content deemed sensitive by state authorities. Second, the effectiveness of civil society in holding governments accountable is compromised, as state authorities routinely direct internet service providers and technology companies to block or remove online content considered sensitive or illegal. Consequently, individuals and organisations increasingly find their digital content at risk of being blocked or removed, succumbing to government directives to internet service providers and technology companies. This diminishes civil society’s calls for accountability. Third, on several instances, governments have imposed internet shutdowns - particularly during elections and politically sensitive periods - to disrupt the information flow. Ultimately, this has limited civil society’s ability to send and receive communications effectively to mobilise people to hold governments publicly accountable during politically important instances. Fourth, troll ng has surfaced as a mainstream strategy to harass and intimidate individuals and organisations who seek to hold governments accountable. Typically orchestrated by organised groups or cybertroopers, these digital attacks increasingly involve online hate speech directed at women who call out blindspots in government policies. Fifth, the ways of working of INGOs and CSOs have changed, leading many organisations to restrict the scope and assertiveness of their communications to shield themselves from government retribution and trolling. Some entities have opted to remove the visibility of their organisations, incorporating measures such as disallowing the use of their logos or the publishing of videos, photos and text by local partners in order to distance themselves from particular activities and contents of knowledge products. Given these developments, the principal recommendation is that key stakeholders, including international organisations, governments, ISPs and technology companies, and civil society actors, should recognise that criticism of government policies and officials is a legitimate activity and a vital form of expression for civil society. Hence, any measures, whether legal or non-legal, that interfere with or criminalise this legitimate activity should be rescinded or disallowed. Instead, measures should be put in place to ensure that civil society is empowered to call out the blind spots in government policies." (Executive summary) more

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Countering violent extremism through internet intermediaries: A typology for cross-country comparison

Vincent Pak-Hong Wong

Global Media and Communication, volume 20, issue 1 (2024), pp. 3-22

"This paper examines the counter-violent extremism and anti-terrorism measures in Australia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States by investigating how governments leveraged internet intermediaries as their surrogate censors. Particular attention is paid to how political rhetoric l ... more

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Collaborative digital regulation country review: South Africa’s digital transformation and collaborative regulation

Janet Hernandez, Jeff Bernstein

Geneva: ITU (2024), vii, 43 pp.

"As South Africa adopts reforms to further strengthen its economy across multiple sectors, this country review presents the policy, legislative, and governance frameworks that are enabling South Africa’s digital transformation. It includes a review of key institutions and collaborative digital reg ... more

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Measuring the Emissions & Energy Footprint of the ICT Sector: Implications for Climate Action

Washington, DC; Geneva: World Bank; ITU (2024), vi, 45 pp.

"The objective of this report is two-fold. First, the report breaks down the energy and emissions profile of the sector and assesses the 30 highest emitting countries for telecommunications while providing global estimates for other ICT sector segments. The report uses a key framework for categorizi ... more

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Contestations of Internet Governance and Digital Authoritarianism in Pakistan

Zahid Shahab Ahmed, Ihsan Yilmaz, Akbarzadeh, Sharam, Galib Bashirov

International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society (2024), 23 pp.

"The existing literature on Internet governance offers important insights on the relationship between state and society in China and the West. It is important to explore this relationship in the developing world. This study focuses on Pakistan, exploring the role of relevant legal frameworks, politi ... more

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Contesting personalized recommender systems: A cross-country analysis of user preferences

Christopher Starke, Ljubisa Metikos, Natali Helberger, Claes de Vreese

Information, Communication & Society (2024), 20 pp.

"Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube wield substantial influence over digital information flows using sophisticated algorithmic recommender systems (RS). As these systems curate personalized content, concerns have emerged about their propensity to amplify polar ... more

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Consultation Paper on AI Regulation: Emerging Approaches Across the World

Juan David Gutiérrez

Paris: UNESCO (2024), 49 pp.

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A Latin American Perspective on Global Governance for Digital Platform Accountability

CEBRI; Fundacão Alexandre de Gusmão; Instituto de Pesquisa Económico Aplicada (IPEA) (2024), 14 pp.

Governing AI for Humanity Deep Insights

Global Index on Responsible AI 2024 Deep Insights

Governing AI for Humanity
Deep Insights

Global Index on Responsible AI 2024
Deep Insights