Governments across more than 60 jurisdictions rolled out aggressive digital policy updates in October 2026, according to a Digital Policy Alert roundup published by Tech Policy Press.
Countries Introduce New Regulations to Protect Children Online
Turkey introduced a regulation requiring social network providers to verify users’ ages and bar children under 15, while Mexico issued a decree focused on safe digital environments for children and adolescents. Australia introduced its Digital Duty of Care Bill.
Within the European Union, the European Commission continued enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA) by opening formal proceedings against Booking to assess compliance with fraud and phishing risk mitigation obligations. The Commission also approved Temu’s action plan addressing risk assessment breaches concerning illegal product sales, giving the platform four months to implement five corrective measures subject to external audit.
Governments Release Updates for Artificial Intelligence Policy
Artificial intelligence policy updates featured several cross-border and national developments. The European Commission launched a consultation on procedural rules for AI Act enforcement, while Italy designated its national AI Act authorities via Legislative Decree. The European Union and Canada issued a joint statement on AI safety and governance, and China opened a consultation on adding 23 AI technologies to its export control framework. Japan established the AI and Digital Reform Promotion Council.
Data governance and competition policy saw concurrent actions, including South Korea imposing fines of ₩42.9 billion and ₩20.81 billion against Google and Apple over in-app payments. France levied a €7 million fine against Fnac companies over app trackers, and Vietnam introduced a draft Data Security Law featuring tiered cross-border transfer rules.
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