The hottest Digital Policy Substack posts right now

AI-powered bot swarms can pretend to be real communities and manufacture the appearance of majority opinion, which destroys the independence of voices that democracy depends on.
Traditional takedowns and copy-detection are too slow and brittle; we need proactive technical defenses like continuous network-behavior monitoring and agent-based stress tests to detect and prepare for coordinated attacks.
Policy and institutional fixes can change the economics of manipulation: require privacy-preserving proof-of-human credentials for high-reach interactions, guarantee researcher access to platform data, and build independent observatories so faking a crowd becomes costly and easily detected.

Governments are rapidly moving to set minimum ages (about 16) for social‑media accounts, with several countries already passing or planning laws that limit kids’ access. This shift is quickly reshaping how societies regulate children’s online life.
Two things made the change happen: platforms showed age limits can be enforced without disaster, and widespread public outrage and concern—especially after high‑profile harms—created strong political support. That combination turned private worries into collective momentum.
The recommended approach favors 16 as a pragmatic protective age and rejects parental‑consent loopholes, arguing that stronger, fast action is needed to shield adolescents during sensitive brain development periods.

German authorities are increasingly policing speech aggressively, using raids, fines, and criminal charges even for satire or criticism.
A large censorship industry of NGOs, academics, contractors, and state bodies is monitoring and scoring content, with hundreds or even thousands of groups and grants shaping what gets flagged or removed.
The overlap of police, private groups, and bureaucracies — plus invasive scanning of communications — creates a whole-of-society censorship model that risks spreading and chilling dissent beyond Europe.

A cooperative essay collection and printed pamphlet will explore how the internet should be owned, funded, regulated, and experienced, with contributors writing on topics like platform cooperatives, public infrastructure, social media's offline impact, hidden labour, niche online cultures, blockchain funding, and media futures.
Community members can compete for the open pamphlet spot by publishing an essay by the end of February and sharing it in the Slack #essays channel, with paid members able to get editing feedback or request a designer for custom art.
The community will vote on their favorite essay to include in the pamphlet, and the chosen writer will earn a share of pamphlet sales. The project also has patron support to cover design and printing costs.

Issues affecting boys and men went mainstream in 2025, moving beyond talk to real public and policy attention, especially at the state level.
The American Institute for Boys and Men grew fast, doubling its staff and launching major programs on men in higher education, online life, and K–12, plus new fellows and initiatives.
Several governors rolled out targeted policies—more male teachers, apprenticeships, re‑enrolment drives, mentorship and a Male Service Challenge—and national conversations expanded on male loneliness, HBCU enrollment, caring jobs, sports betting, fatherhood, and rites of passage.

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The European Commission has started enforcing the Digital Services Act but faces a slow setup of the necessary institutions to implement it. They are focusing on big platforms and asking for information on issues like protecting minors and risk assessments.
New regulatory bodies called Digital Services Coordinators must be established in EU countries to help enforce the DSA. However, some countries are still lagging behind in appointing these coordinators.
The new out-of-court settlement mechanisms could help users appeal content moderation decisions easier, but there are risks about handling the volume of appeals and ensuring fairness in the process.

The internet was not originally designed to be safe for kids, but improvements have been made over the years. Now, with new technology like generative AI, there's a chance to build better protections for children right from the start.
Generative AI poses new risks for kids, especially with issues like deepfake pornography. These risks can lead to harmful impacts on their mental health and safety, as they might encounter misleading or abusive content online.
Organizations like NCMEC play a crucial role in reporting and managing child exploitation content online, but they are underfunded. New laws need to ensure that these organizations receive the necessary resources to effectively combat these growing threats.

The EU is investigating Meta to ensure it protects children online, focusing on how well age verification tools work. They are concerned that many kids lies about their age, making current methods ineffective.
Meta has implemented various methods for age assurance, including AI and human checks, but there are still challenges in verifying minors' ages accurately. They often use self-reported ages, which aren't reliable.
The introduction of digital IDs is being discussed as a possible solution for age verification. However, there are concerns about how these IDs will be used and if they truly solve the problem of verifying minors' ages.