EDRi-gram, 7 May 2025
What has the EDRis network been up to over the past two weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: Apple & Meta fined for breaching DMA, civil society urges EU to act against Hungary’s pride ban, & more!
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Dear supporters,
We may not be following the papal conclave to find out who the next pope is going to be, but we’re surely paying attention to which tech giants will be next to face the music thanks to the EU’s digital rulebook. Two weeks ago, the European Commission slammed tech giants Apple and Meta with fines for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Meta was fined for its coercive consent model ‘Pay or Okay’ on its platforms, and Apple was fined for its restrictive app store rules.
While it was great to see the Commission showing some teeth against the stronghold of Big Tech companies, we wonder if the low fines – often not even a pittance for these corporations – will be dissuasive enough for them to actually change.
In April, we, together with Bits of Freedom, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte, and Convocation Design + Research also wielded the power of EU’s digital laws by filing a complaint against Meta, which is violating the Digital Services Act (DSA) by making it hard for people to choose news feeds that are not based on profiling. Meta’s toxic, profiling-based content feeds are affecting our lives and well-being, and we deserve to take control back over our online experiences.
Instances like these make it clearer than ever that EU’s digital laws like the DSA, DMA and others have great potential to address the dominance of tech giants and the consequences on our democracy and fundamental rights.
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The blanket collection of metadata on communications in the Czech Republic is illegal. Iuridicum Remedium wins data retention dispute.
The Municipal Court in Prague ruled in a dispute that lasted more than four years. EDRi member IuRe represented journalist Jan Cibulka in the case. He demanded an...
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Civil society to European Commission: Act now to defend fundamental rights from Hungary’s Pride ban and the use of facial recognition against protesters
EDRi, along with a broad coalition of civil society organisations, demands urgent action from the European Commission on Hungary’s new law banning Pride marches and permitting the use...
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When technology is the problem, not the solution: Lessons from harmful consequences of techno-solutionism in digital surveillance
AI-powered surveillance systems are being deployed globally - from Israel and Russia to EU member states. These systems target marginalised communities under the guise of improving security and...
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Digital trade: the new frontline in the fight for our rights
The EU is signing digital trade deals that could undermine fundamental rights and block oversight of software systems shaping our lives. From data protection to algorithmic accountability, these...
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Civil society files DSA complaint against Meta for toxic, profiling-fueled feeds
Civil society organisations Bits of Freedom, Convocation Design + Research, European Digital Rights (EDRi), and Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF) are filing a complaint against Meta for violating the...
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Showing your ID to get online might become a reality – a closer look at the EU’s new age verification app
Coming to a website near you this summer: the European Commission is close to a ‘solution’ that could force people to use their government-issued ID to get online....
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Commission slams Apple and Meta for breaching the Digital Markets Act, doesn’t stick the landing with fines
The European Commission has shown some teeth with the EU’s digital rulebook by slamming tech giants Apple and Meta with fines, and an order to stop the infringing...
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RECOMMENDED
Object to Meta training AI with your personal data
Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
By end of May 2025, Meta plans to start using the data of Facebook and Instagram users as AI training datasets. Personal data will then be used to train the company’s AI-based services. The Irish Data Protection Authority, lead supervisory authority for Meta in the EU, has intervened to – drum roll – make it easier to object. This opt-out is not the ban many would have hoped for and puts the burden on individual users’ shoulders. But at least Hamburg’s Data Protection Commissioner has published a guide on how to object. If this is relevant for you, do it now.
Gutting AI transparency in the name of deregulation will not help Europe
Zusanna Warso, EDRi member, Open Future & Maximilian Gahntz, Mozilla Foundation
The EU’s rush to simplify AI regulation risks weakening transparency rules. This regulatory shift threatens core principles needed for responsible AI development. Zuzanna Warso and Maximilian Gahntz write an important contribution about the European Commission’s deregulation agenda and argue that it will not help Europe Read it now.
This is what a digital coup looks like
Carole Cadwalladr, TED
Investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr decries the rise of the “broligarchy” – the powerful tech executives who are using their global digital platforms to amass unprecedented geopolitical power, dismantling democracy and enabling authoritarian control across the world. She calls to resist data harvesting and mass surveillance, and to support others in digital disobedience. Watch her talk now.
Meta’s AI chatbots are a disaster
The 404 Media team unpacks recent stories on how Meta’s AI chatbots were used to create pseudo-therapists hallucinating fabricated degrees, potentially misleading people in need of actual care. (Maybe now you want to revisit the Recommended DO section from this EDRi-gram.) They also cover how wildly unethical AI-powered research targeted on Reddit users. Listen to the podcast now.
EVENTS
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Defending Your Organization Against Rage Farming
Organised by PWorld, this live webinar offers a deep dive into the mechanics of rage farming — a digital strategy where malicious actors provoke public outrage to distort...
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Palestine Digital Activism Forum 2025
The urgency of safeguarding digital rights, including the right of access to the internet and information, has never been more pressing. As this harrowing reality unfolds, it is...
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Save the date: The European Investigative Journalism Conference
Dataharvest – The European Investigative Journalism Conference is a meeting point where networks are established and nurtured, data and documents shared, cross-border projects conceived and teams established. The...
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Media & Learning 2025: Educational media that works
Media & Learning 2025 is a two-day international conference focused on the strategic use of educational media in higher education. Co-organised by the Media and Learning Association and...
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EPR Summer Course on European Platform Regulation 2025
Organised by the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam, this five-day summer course offers an in-depth look at the legal and policy framework governing...
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Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute 2025
For over two decades, the Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute has convened scholars, regulators, technologists, and activists to explore the global impact of media and technology. Organised by...
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The 16th Hackers On Planet Earth conference – HOPE_16
The HOPE conferences are known for their creativity and diversity, not to mention a whole lot of hacker fun. We've been at this for over three decades now...
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Freedom Not Fear 2025
Freedom Not Fear (FNF) is an annual self-organised conference on privacy and digital rights. People from all across Europe meet and work towards more freedom in the digitalised...
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17th Dubrovnik Media Days
The Dubrovnik Media Days is an annual international conference hosted by the University of Dubrovnik, gathering media scholars and communication experts from across Europe and beyond. Now in...
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2nd European Congress on Disinformation and Fact-Checking – DisinfoCongress 2025
Organised by UC3M MediaLab, the DisinfoCongress 2025 brings together researchers, journalists, policymakers and civil society to discuss emerging threats and solutions in the global information ecosystem. This hybrid...
JOBS
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The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) is hiring for Head of Public Affairs – Europe & Multilaterals
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to disrupting the architecture of online hate and misinformation. Through evidence-based research, policy advocacy and strategic...
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ControlAI is hiring for Policy Advisor – AI Safety & Security (UK)
ControlAI is a non-profit organisation working to prevent the development of unsafe superintelligence and to secure a future in which AI benefits humanity. Since its founding in 2023,...
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Liberties is hiring for various positions
The Civil Liberties Union for Europe is a Berlin-based watchdog that safeguards the human rights of everyone in the European Union. Liberties works on multiple human rights issues,...
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NewsGuard is hiring for a Staff Reporter, Media and Misinformation
NewsGuard the Global Leader in Information Reliability combines human expertise and technology to provide data, analysis and journalism that helps enterprises and consumers identify reliable information online.