France teeters on the edge of digital authoritarianism?
The European Union (EU) has been at the forefront of digital regulation, introducing significant frameworks and proposals in 2024 and 2025 aimed at enhancing privacy, safety, fairness, and trust in digital ecosystems.
One of the key regulations is the Digital Services Act (DSA) 2025, which introduces strengthened protections for minors using online platforms. The DSA requires private-by-default settings, stricter age verification via robust methods, ethical design to remove manipulative features, and mandatory risk assessments for access by minors. Final guidelines by the European Commission, published in July 2025, set expectations for platforms accessible to minors to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security.
Another significant regulation is the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) 2024/1689, the first comprehensive legal framework on AI globally. It categorizes AI applications into three risk levels: unacceptable risk, high-risk, and low-risk. The AI Act aims to foster trustworthy AI that respects safety, fundamental rights, and human-centric principles while supporting innovation and investment in AI within the EU. A voluntary AI Pact has been launched to encourage early compliance by AI providers and deployers.
In addition, strengthened children’s data privacy rules for 2025 align with the DSA. These new rules require platforms to implement private-by-default settings, stricter age verification, and ethical design principles to protect minors. Non-compliance can lead to significant sanctions including fines and operational bans.
The EU is also considering the Digital Fairness Act (DFA), launched in mid-2025, which aims to fill regulatory gaps left by the DSA and Digital Markets Act (DMA), focusing on consumer protection in digital markets. Proposals include new rules governing interface design, pricing strategies, content personalization, subscription management, and digital marketing affecting business-to-consumer platforms.
These regulations illustrate the EU’s comprehensive approach to ensuring digital services and AI usage uphold privacy, protect vulnerable users like children, foster fairness and transparency, and address emerging risks inherent in new technologies. The EU continues to position itself as a global standard-setter for digital and AI governance.
Meanwhile, France is facing the dissolution of the National Assembly, which may reshuffle political cards and lead to parties striving for more power. As digital issues become increasingly important, citizens should closely examine the proposals of political parties to ensure their digital freedoms are respected in the legislative hemicycle.
In other news, cyberattacks, such as ransomware attacks, can cause essential infrastructure like hospitals to stop functioning in France. Citizens should remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to protect their digital assets.
The war between Ukraine and Russia remains a critical issue at Europe’s borders. The digital will be heavily used during the legislative elections in the near future, and it is crucial to maintain factual accuracy and avoid the spread of fake news, which can manipulate public opinion and cause social crises.
In Russia, the primary search engine used is Yandex, which has strong ties to the government, allowing for monitoring and control of browsing habits and dissemination of controlled content. In China, digital surveillance is ubiquitous, and citizens have developed ways to cope with it.
A ban on TikTok has been implemented in New Caledonia, marking a precedent-setting measure. As digital platforms continue to evolve, it is essential for regulations to adapt and keep pace to ensure the safety, privacy, and fairness of all users.
References: [1] European Commission. (2025). Digital Services Act Package. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12527-Digital-Services-Act-Package [2] European Commission. (2024). Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act). Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12439-Proposal-for-a-Regulation-of-the-European-Parliament-and-of-the-Council-on-Artificial-Intelligence-Artificial-Intelligence-Act [3] European Commission. (2025). Digital Services Act: Final guidelines. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12527-Digital-Services-Act-Package/public-consultation/20250628-digital-services-act-final-guidelines [4] European Commission. (2024). AI Act: The first comprehensive legal framework on AI globally. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12439-Proposal-for-a-Regulation-of-the-European-Parliament-and-of-the-Council-on-Artificial-Intelligence-Artificial-Intelligence-Act [5] European Commission. (2025). Digital Fairness Act consultation launched. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12598-Digital-Fairness-Act-consultation-launched
- The European Union's (EU) digital regulations, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) 2025 and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) 2024/1689, not only enhance privacy, safety, and trust in digital ecosystems but also address political issues like children's protection and consumer rights in digital markets.
- As technology continues to advance, politics plays a crucial role in shaping regulations, such as the Digital Services Act, AI Act, and the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, ensuring that new technologies like AI are used responsibly and fairly, and that the rights and safety of users, particularly children, are protected.
