Regulating Cyberspace: UN Consensus-Building in a Fragmented Digital World

Cyberspace has become a critical area for global governance. In recent years, several efforts have been made to establish regulatory frameworks that can keep pace with its transnational and rapidly evolving nature in order to ensure the security of the technologies on which societies have become increasingly dependent. Key UN-led initiatives to regulate different areas of cyberspace include the UN Group of Governmental Experts, the Open-Ended Working Group, and the Internet Governance Forum. However, these initiatives have shown mixed results in terms of their robustness, effectiveness, and democratic participation. In many cases, their potentialities have been hindered by geopolitical tensions and geoeconomic ambitions, as well as by various state actors’ efforts to impose their own visions of cyberspace regulation. As the 2025 review of these key UN processes approaches, unresolved issues persist and new challenges arise, highlighting the inherent complexity of cyberspace regulation.