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From today's FTM newsletter:
https://www.ftm.eu/newsletters/less-red-tape-more-pesticides-bee-careful-what-you-simplify
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Alexander Fanta
@fantafanta@mastodon.social
mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06Journalist on the digital beat. Reporting on Big Tech and surveillance. FOI curious. "fanta.99" on Signal.
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Joined November 23, 2018
RE: @fantafanta@mastodon.social
News update: As our story published, xAI quietly changed its contact address again, to another address in Estonia.
I'm taking bets on whether, this time, their "office" is for real.
MAGA's war on European civil society is escalating. Visa bans for NGO leaders and former EU officials, plus congressional demands for documents - it's all about undermining the Digital Services Act to protect Big Tech.
If Europe doesn't push back hard, "the law is dead."
Any true European alternative to Tinder can only be called "EU Singles Market"
SNEAKY - on 5 June the Council of the EU holds a non-public event at its Brussels headquarters to mark the 25th anniversary of the EU’s transparency law, Regulation 1049/2001. Yes, you heard that right – there’s a closed-door event to celebrate transparency.
A classic EU move, one might say.
We’ll make sure to file a request for the minutes – which, we suspect, will be marked “LIMITE”.
Read this and other transparency news in the latest Secrecy Tracker newsletter:
https://euobserver.com/213899/secrecy-tracker-data-centre-secrecy-and-top-eu-court-database-disaster/
🚨 News alert on the long-stalled battle to pick the EU's next privacy chief, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
Sources tell me the Council and the EP's LIBE committee agreed on breaking the gridlock through a voting procedure also used for picking a seat for the EU Customs Agency.
I think the one thing we should learn from decades of software development is that if things don't work as expected, you're probably using the software in a wrong way. That's really the only interpretation
One thing I've learned about myself is that I can be very good at doing 85 percent of a thing, and very lazy about the other 15.
Is everyone like that?
Bringing the disruption to Brussels: The European Commission encourages its managers to draft policy-making documents with AI, including "explaining/summarising legislative initiatives". According to a newly released Commission document, this will "boost your team's productivity". 🫢
Find the full doc here: https://www.asktheeu.org/request/i_would_like_access_to_guideline/response/62551/attach/html/5/03%20AI%20Guide%20for%20Managers.pdf.html
A year ago, the Huaweigate scandal rocked Brussels.
But the prosecution of MEPs allegedly involved has hit a few roadblocks - including an embarrassing mistake by Belgian authorities:
https://www.ftm.eu/newsletters/huaweigate-turns-one-this-week-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont
The curious maths behind Telegram's regulatory escape
Telegram has successfully avoided coming under direct supervision of the European Commission under the EU's Digital Services Act. The "poor man's dark web" remains unregulated, for now.
From our latest newsletter: https://www.ftm.eu/newsletters/newsletter-who-pays-for-europes-pandemic-debts-member-states-are-about-to-find-out
Replying to
@osm_tech@en.osm.town Interesting. Perhaps we could follow-up via e-mail or DM? alexander.fanta@ftm.nl
Telegram’s battle with European regulators could force it to hire thousands of content moderators to tackle illegal content. Documents obtained by Follow the Money show how Telegram is trying to fend off tougher oversight from Brussels.
Post-xmas Santa
The European Ombudsman has told the Commission to stop deleting text messages after someone makes an FOI request for them. Specifically, this applies to Commission chief von der Leyens texts.
Read this and weep:
https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/doc/inspection-report/en/217450