EDRi-gram, 4 December 2024
This week, a new college of European Commissioners was confirmed by the European Parliament. Together with a broad civil society coalition, we welcomed them with our collective vision for EU policy that puts technology in the public interest. This call-to-action for the new leadership is crucial, given the worrying Commissioners' hearings in the European Parliament. Their focus on corporate and security interests steeped in, wrapped in a harmful logic of constant growth and control. Below, you can also read our main takeaways from the Commissioners' hearings. It was a mixed bag that reiterated the importance of our efforts towards achieving digital justice. More, we share a critical analysis of the EU's twin transition in times of crises, and its connection to green extractivism and militarisation. Romania has also been on our minds this week – with an unexpected extremist candidate winning the first round of the presidential elections. Civil society in Romania is ringing the alarm about the role that TikTok played in amplifying an existing democracy deficit and social issues, how the tech platform relates to DSA obligations, and what the EU and national authorities can do about it. Finally, EDRi's Executive Director Claire Fernandez is preparing for a leadership transition in 2025. Join us in thanking Claire for her dedication and impact, while reading some reflections below.
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EDRi’s leadership transition: laying the ground for just digital futures
EDRi’s Executive Director, Claire Fernandez, reflects on her time leading the organisation through many milestones and obstacles, as she gets ready to step down in 2025. She also...
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New European Commission confirmed: our takeaways on what to expect
On 1 December 2024, the new political leaders of one of the EU’s most powerful institutions – the European Commission – officially took office. As part of their...
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Italian DPA’s €5M fine against Glovo marks milestone for workers’ rights
The Italian data protection authority (DPA) recently fined Foodinhio, a subsidiary of Glovo, €5 million for serious breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and labour law....
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TikTok catalyses extremist views and breaches electoral legislation in Romania
Romanian civil society is alarmed about political advertisement on TikTok breaching European and national laws and how that benefited an extremist candidate in the elections. EDRi member ApTI...
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Centering public interest in EU technology policies and practices: A civil society call to the new European leadership
Read the joint statement of civil society organisations following the Tech & Society Summit (1st October, Brussels).
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EU’s twin transition in crisis: green extractivism, militarisation and civil society’s role
In June 2024, technologists, advocates, researchers, designers, artists and funders. met at Mozfest, to dismantle the underlying assumptions behind the techno-solutionist paradigm of the "twin transition”. This article...
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Free Software Foundation Europe intervenes in landmark Apple vs European Commission case
EDRi member Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is taking a stand against Apple in a landmark case at the Court of Justice of the European Union, where the...
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