Year 2023 brought new developments in the digital world, with regulatory trends affecting the connectivity, data economy and platform sectors globally.
Discover the topics and stories that trended most amongst the Global Trends readers in 2023.
Top 3 Benchmarks
1. 5G
This Global Trends Benchmark tracks the evolution of mobile operators’ 5G plans and their implementation, government strategies, and 5G spectrum awards. It covers 16 jurisdictions across all continents.
Several countries covered in this Global Trends Benchmark adopted specific policies aimed at fostering fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) deployments, including subsidies to industry players or public-private partnerships. Among the 14 jurisdictions covered, full fibre is most widely available in Asia-Pacific countries.
This Global Trends Benchmark compares policies and regulatory approaches on artificial intelligence (AI) across 12 jurisdictions around the world. The research found three main approaches to regulating AI: (1) promoting principles for responsible use; (2) proposing legislation targeting high-risk use; (3) regulating specific technologies.
Top 3 Regulatory Reports
1. Regulating generative AI around the world
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT are currently in the spotlight. Several countries around the world are debating whether generative AI systems should be regulated, and how.
2. What global and regional trends in 2G and 3G network switch-offs?
This Global Trends report details the status of 2G and 3G switch-offs worldwide, outlining the factors that contribute to accelerating or decelerating switch-offs in specific regions.
3. What rules for children’s increasingly online lives?
In all parts of the world, children and adolescents are spending an increasing amount of time online. This Global Trends report provides an update on the most relevant legal and regulatory initiatives addressing their protection. It outlines different views and approaches when defining legal liabilities for children’s online activities, and new types of online age verification systems adopted around the world.
Top 5 News Flashes
1. China proposes to regulate usage by minors of smartphones and other connected devices
Aiming to further protect children and adolescents online, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) consulted until 2 September 2023 on new proposed rules restricting the use by minors of smartphones, tablets, and different types of mobile services and apps. This Global Trends Flash summarises the proposed rules, which will be binding and explicitly recognise that online services can be detrimental to the physical and mental health of minors. It also briefly discusses how the proposed framework in China compares with rules on the protection of online minors currently applicable in the EU.
2. UNESCO’s guidelines to support the regulation of digital platforms
This Global Trends Flash discusses proposed voluntary guidelines on the global regulation of digital platforms. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiative adds to other multi-stakeholder initiatives aiming to support national governments to build trust and deal with harmful content in the digital economy in a proportionate manner.
3. India proposes to regulate OTT media services under the Broadcasting Bill
India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) consulted until 9 December 2023 on a draft bill replacing the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. If enacted, the new legislation will extend the MIB’s purview to over-the-top (OTT) content. This Global Trends Flash discusses this draft bill in India, as well as how some other countries already regulate OTT services in parallel with broadcasting services.
4. Netflix and SK Telecom settle dispute over network usage fees in Korea
The two companies announced a partnership on 18 September 2023. SK Telecom will offer bundles including Netflix subscription packages from 2024. The agreement ended a legal dispute that put Korea in the spotlight in the international debate on whether content and application providers should contribute to network deployment costs. No details of the revenue sharing arrangements were made public. This Global Trends Flash explains the key aspects of the agreement and why it matters for other regions.
5. South Africa’s telecoms regulator amends QoS rules
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) approved amendments to its 2016 quality of service (QoS) rules for electronic communication services in March 2023. The regulatory authority’s objective was to introduce additional QoS parameters, as well as to adjust some of the existing ones. Those amendments enable ICASA to continue monitoring and enforcing compliance with customer care standards in a changing market environment, the authority specified. Several other authorities across Africa recently revised QoS rules, this Global Trends Flash also highlights.