WSIS+20 Roadmap
On 21 May 2025, the President of the UN General Assembly announced the ‘WSIS+20 Roadmap’. The process, led by the two co-facilitators from Kenya and Albania, will involve several intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder consultations and culminate in an ‘Output Document’ to be adopted at a high-level closing conference during the 80th UN General Assembly in New York on 16 and 17 December 2025. A first ‘Elements Paper’ is planned for 20 June 2025. A ‘Zero Draft’ is to be available at the end of August. Real and virtual consultations are planned for October and November 2025. The first draft of the final document should be available in mid-November and be subject to further consultation before the final draft is adopted by governments on 17 December 2025.[1] WSIS+20 will also address the future of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
WSIS+20
WSIS+20 is increasingly being discussed at conferences of the technical and academic community and civil society. On 21 May 2025, IETF 125 in Bangkok discussed the role of IETF, ISOC and IAB in the WSIS process[2]. On 28 May 2025, a CITI seminar was held at Columbia University in New York.[3] The 9th GIG-ARTS Conference in Salerno (20 and 21 May 2025)[4] and ICANN (27 May 2025) addressed the topic.[5] The EU published a non-paper on WSIS on 16 May.[6] However, WSIS+20 still seems to be of little interest for business conferences.
UNCSTD Working Group on Data Governance (WGDG)
On 1 and 2 May 2025, the first meeting of the UNCSTD Working Group on Data Governance (WGDG), newly established by the GDC, took place in Geneva. The group comprises 48 members from all stakeholder groups. The WGDG has been mandated by the GDC to develop recommendations by 2026 for ‘equitable and interoperable data governance arrangements, which may include fundamental principles of data governance at all levels as relevant for development’ and to make proposals ‘to support interoperability between national, regional and international data systems’. The initial focus was on procedural issues. The United States proposed limiting the scope to the examination of national data policies and cutting links to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was rejected by the majority of the other participants.[7] The WGDG is chaired by Hungarian diplomat Peter Major, who was previously chair of the UNCSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation (WGEC). The next meeting is scheduled for 3 and 4 July 2025 in Geneva. It is open to the public.
Multi-stakeholder consultations on internet-based autonomous weapon systems (AWS)
4. On 12 and 13 May 2025, informal multi-stakeholder consultations on internet-based autonomous weapon systems (AWS) took place in New York.[8] Discussions focused on the progress made by a group of experts (GGE LAWS), which has been negotiating the issue for almost ten years, as well as proposals by UN Secretary-General Guterres and the President of the International Red Cross to negotiate an international treaty on AWS by 2026.[9] According to these proposals, AWS that are beyond human control should be banned. Other AWS are to be regulated and bound by the Geneva Convention on international humanitarian law. The consultations reflected the conflicts that have arisen to date: some governments (the United States, China, Russia, Israel, Turkey, etc.) reject an international treaty, while the majority support it. The negotiations will continue in the autumn, both in the GGE LAWS (Geneva) and at the 80th UN General Assembly (New York).
17th European IGF (EURODIG)
From 12 to 14 May 2025, the 17th European IGF (EURODIG) took place in Strasbourg under the title ‘Safeguarding human rights by balancing regulation and innovation’. The conference was hosted by the Council of Europe, whose Secretary General Alain Berset opened the conference. With around 1,000 offline and online participants, a new attendance record was set. The focus was on artificial intelligence, disinformation, digital regulation and preparations for WSIS+20. The ‘Messages from Strasbourg’ will be sent to the UN IGF (Oslo, June 2025).[10]
EU Commission launched a new consultation on data retention
On 21 May 2025, the EU Commission launched a new consultation on data retention to improve and harmonise law enforcement within Europe. Comments can be submitted until 18 June 2025.[11] Critics fear a new attempt by the EU to weaken the limits set by the ECJ on the collection of personal data.[12] Another consultation was launched on 23 May 2025 on the use of data in AI and international data flows to develop an EU strategy for a ‘data union’. Comments can be submitted until 18 July 2025. The Commission has also expanded its international digital partnerships. The third meeting of the Digital Partnership Council with Japan took place on 12 May 2025 in Tokyo on ‘AI, 5G/6G, semiconductors, high performance computing and quantum technology’.[13] The 7th Dialogue with South Korea took place in Seoul on 20 May 2025 and focused, among other things, on the future of the OEWG, the Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) and cyber capacity building.[14]
China and Russia sign joint declaration on strengthening international law
On 9 May 2025, the presidents of China and Russia, Xi Ji Ping and Vladimir Putin, signed a joint declaration in Moscow on strengthening international law, which also contains articles on internet governance. In Article 21, they commit themselves ‘to promote an open, secure, stable, accessible, peaceful and interoperable Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) environment’. They support the UN Convention on Cybercrime adopted in December 2024 and are committed to the elaboration of an additional protocol on the criminalisation of the dissemination of illegal content on the Internet. In Article 23, both states call for artificial intelligence not to be misused for ‘manipulating public opinion, spreading disinformation, intervening in other countries' internal affairs, social systems and social order, as well as jeopardising the sovereignty of other states.’ AI must be regulated within the framework of the UN and be ‘human-centric, reliable, explainable, ethical, inclusive, and based on applicable international law, in particular the UN Charter.’[15]
BRICS trade ministers Meeting
The BRICS trade ministers agreed on a joint strategy for ‘data economy governance’ in Brasilia on 21 May 2025. The document recognises the key role of data for economic growth, innovation and public administration, laments the lack of statistical data and identifies regulatory fragmentation as an obstacle to better integration of developing countries into the global digital economy. The aim is to strengthen data sovereignty while facilitating efficient and trustworthy cross-border data flows and digital public infrastructure (DPI).[16]
New Ministry for Digitalisation and State Modernisation (BMDS)
Germany has repositioned itself digitally following the federal elections. On 7 May 2025, Dr Karsten Wildberger became the first Digital Minister to come from the business sector. The six priority areas of the new Ministry for Digitalisation and State Modernisation (BMDS) include ‘international digital policy’. In his first speech to the Bundestag on 16 May 2025, Wildberger focused on ‘internal digitalisation’. International digital policy did not play a role[17]. On 23 May 2025, Wildberger met with French Digital Minister Clara Chappaz. The meeting focused on Europe's digital sovereignty.[18] Hansjörg Durz (CDU/CSU) was elected as the new chair of the Bundestag's Digital Committee on 15 May 2025.[19]
CENTR on new EU regulations for ccTLDs
On 19 May 2025, CENTR, the umbrella organisation for European ccTLDs, opposed new EU regulations on disinformation with obligations for ccTLD registries: ‘The EU has an extensive legal framework that prescribes clear obligations on all digital services within the information ecosystem when it comes to responding to harmful content. There is no justification for creating a different set of standards for disinformation.’ Existing mechanisms are sufficient to address the problem. However, more should be done to improve the digital skills of end users.[20]
[1] https://www.un.org/pga/wp-content/uploads/sites/109/2025/05/Co-facs_Letter_WSIS20_1st_Prep_Meeting.pdf
[2] https://www.ietf.org/blog/technical-community-involvement-in-internet-governance/
[3] https://business.columbia.edu/citi/events/citi-seminars-global-digital-governance
[4] https://gig-arts.eu/salerno-2025/
[5] https://icann83.sched.com/event/23LLT/geopolitical-legislative-and-regulatory-developments-update
[6] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un-new-york/eu-non-paper-world-summit-information-society-wsis20-stakeholder-participation_en?s=63
[7] https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sotf-pact_for_the_future_adopted.pdf
[8] https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/aws/consultations/2025/reports/AWSR2.2.pdf
[9] https://www.icrc.org/en/document/joint-call-un-and-icrc-establish-prohibitions-and-restrictions-autonomous-weapons-systems
[10] https://eurodigwiki.org/wiki/Consolidated_programme_2025
[11] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14680-Impact-assessment-on-retention-of-data-by-service-providers-for-criminal-proceedings-_en
[12] https://www.heise.de/news/Offener-Brief-EU-Ermittler-wollen-Verschluesselung-umgehen-und-die-Mathematik-10196456.html
[13] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/eu-and-japan-reinforce-tech-and-digital-partnership
[14] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/cyber-eu-and-republic-korea-hold-7th-cyber-dialogue-seoul_und_en
[15] https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xw/zyxw/202505/t20250509_11617838.html
[16] https://www.gov.br/mdic/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo/publicacoes/brics/comercio/ingles/brics_tmm_package_of_outcomes_v21-05-25_final-version.pdf
[17] https://bmds.bund.de/aktuelles/reden/16052025-wildberger-rede-plenarsitzung-bundestag
[18] https://bmds.bund.de/aktuelles/aktuelle-meldungen/22052025-erstes-bilaterales-treffen-von-digitalminister-wildberger-mit-franzoesischer-amtskollegin-in-berlin
[19] https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2025/kw21-pa-digitalisierung-konstituierung-1064142
[20] https://centr.org/images/centr_comment_on_euds_-_20250519.pdf
