Erik Bugge

And maybe not eat what is not theirs?

noyb survey: only 7% of users want Meta to use their personal data for AI While almost 75% of users heard of Meta’s plans, only 7% actually want their data to be used for AI training

Gallup Institute was recently commissioned by @noyb.eu to conduct a representative study among 1,000 Meta users in Germany regarding Meta’s plan to train its AI on users’ personal data.
noyb.eu/en/noyb-surv...

AP: Aid organisations cornered due to Israeli requirement to provide personal data The registration requirement imposed by Israel on aid organisations puts those organisations in a difficult position. The AP therefore requests the Dutch government to formally protest against this re...

So many things I have respected for years feel like in danger, on fire or seriously challenged. Beyond words, another type of data weaponization, beyond the 👿 of #surveillancecapitalism www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/en/current/a...

Hi @adexchanger.com, do you see any substantial traffic coming from Bsky? Asking because I know there are adtech peeps here, but it seems most went back to X?

This is a very interesting paper (HT @older.bsky.social & @philippmarkolin.bsky.social). I need to sit on some of these thoughts a little longer, but here's a first approximation 🧵 of reactions — in no particular order and without much filtering.

It's weird how every time Meta sees the future it always involves Meta knowing more about us

‘We maken Amerika dodelijker’: Palantir wordt AI-hofleverancier van het Amerikaanse leger Met een softwaredeal van tien miljard dollar wordt het controversiële Palantir straks de AI-hofleverancier van het Amerikaanse leger. Hoe is het obscure CIA-project van miljardair Peter Thiel uitgegro...

Terwijl we ons opwinden over Musk, breidt extremist en Trump/Vance-sponsor Peter Thiel met zijn #Palantir onder de radar zijn macht uit. Europese regeringen hebben Palantir ook ingehuurd, maar zwijgen daarover. Dat is een bedreiging voor onze democratie. www.demorgen.be/tech-wetensc... @demorgen.be

Software Maker Figma Surges 250% in Debut After $1.2 Billion IPO Figma Inc. shares jumped 250% in their public debut after the design software maker and some of its shareholders raised $1.2 billion in an IPO, with the trading valuing the company far above the $20 b...

Figma – whose acquisition by Adobe was stopped by competition authorities in 2023 – has just had one of the most successful IPOs in decades, and is now worth nearly three times what Adobe offered. Guess mergers aren't that good for innovation after all.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Jurors ruled that yes, Meta "eavesdropped and that yes, users could have reasonably expected that their sensitive menstrual information was not being shared. Finally, the jurors ruled that no, Meta did not have consent for its actions."

For 17 years working in trust and safety, I've watched talented people burn out on impossible tasks. The problem isn't the people, it's the systems. Traditional moderation requires months of retraining for every policy change. Only big companies can afford it, and even then it works poorly. 🧵 1/9

This article reflects major concerns of mine

It's the Metaverse all over again. And European SMEs are the ones paying for this.

I guess this is a poor excuse to get identity on non-subscribers?

Future of Technology Institute | EU Institutions Senior Lead Job Opening: Future of Technology Institute | EU Institutions Senior Lead at Meliore Foundation (FUP) in Europe.

💥NEW💥: Come work with us!

Future of Tech Institute is hiring *three* senior advocacy roles to run advocacy with EU institutions, Germany, and France. (Roles in thread)

EU:

tinyurl.com/5n6awzdw

Meta to stop running political ads on Facebook and Instagram - Euractiv The social media giant blames an upcoming EU regulation that would require it to comply with political ads transparency rules.

I believe this decision has less to do with transparency requirements and more to do with targeting restrictions. Meta’s (and Google’s) automated targeting systems are not equipped to comply with these requirements. Let ad innovation flourish without being eclipsed by the incumbents.

"But one question both companies' actions [Meta & Google] raises is how effective their own – typically automated – ad review systems are at detecting political, electoral or social issue ads and stopping them from being distributed." www.euractiv.com/section/tech...

It is my opinion that introducing age verification now is irresponsible, mainly because we have now reached the point where Western governments *are* using "the database state" and exploiting online surveillance to be repressive - just as privacy activists warned for decades. This applies to UK & US

This research introduces "WhoFi" for Re-Identification
via Wi-Fi signals :
- Uses Wi-Fi CSI (Channel State Info)
- Encoder extracts signal patterns
- Signature module creates a unique ID
- L2-normalized output vector
- Contactless and always on
arxiv.org/abs/2507.12869

The Case for Europe’s Backing of Digital Civil Society Groups | TechPolicy.Press Mark Scott advocates for the EU to increase funding for digital rights groups to support rights-based digital governance and economic competitiveness.

If Brussels is committed to its goals of revamping the bloc’s economy, promoting fundamental rights, and upholding the rule of law, then greater support for civil society groups dedicated to these causes is an investment that will yield significant economic and societal benefits, writes Mark Scott.

Mailchimp's website view for newsletters is doing something very creepy: it is iframeing all links you click to load them inside the Mailchimp site. An inapp browser but 100 times worse. Example: mailchi.mp/beta.nyc/202...

Fascinating. Microsoft emailed me to say it was raising the price of Microsoft 365, but when i went to cancel it offered me me the old price — without all the AI bullshit.

It’s forcing AI on everyone and making them pay more for it, then only telling them they don’t have to if they try to cancel.

🥂

We wrote to the European Commission this week to urge rapid DMA enforcement against Amazon’s new data free-for-all notice. As we warned, the DMA is being used by dominant firms to undermine GDPR protections that should be a shield for internet users and an aid to small business.

We wrote to the European Commission this week to urge rapid DMA enforcement against Amazon’s new data free-for-all notice. | Johnny Ryan We wrote to the European Commission this week to urge rapid DMA enforcement against Amazon’s new data free-for-all notice. As we warned, the DMA is being used by dominant firms to undermine GDPR prote...

The DMA cannot undermine GDPR enforcement, DMA enforcers should do their job in enforcing it, but DMA enforcers cannot replace sleepy/quarrelling DPAs. And, no, gatekeepers cannot hide behind "specific choice" (read also the Meta decision) www.linkedin.com/posts/johnny...

Proud to be able to support the excellent #DSA complaint drafted by @aiforensics_org against the illegal use of personal data by #X to target people with #SurveillanceAds.

https://eupolicy.social/@edri/114862312731261161

#DigitalServicesAct #TrackingFreeAds #privacy

This is just sad. And incomprehensible.

Joint press release: Commission presents guidelines and age verification app prototype for a safer online space for children Today, the Commission has presented guidelines on the protection of minors, as well as a prototype of an age-verification app under the Digital Services Act (DSA)

"Today, the Commission has presented guidelines on the protection of minors, as well as a prototype of an age-verification app under the Digital Services Act (DSA) [..] The verification app will be tested and further customised" ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Meta will not further adjust its pay-or-consent model despite the risk of EU fines, sources say - TechCentral.ie Meta Platforms does not plan to make further adjustments to its controversial pay-or-consent model, which means the company is almost certain to face fines from the EU, according to Reuters. Under thi...

"Meta will not propose any further adjustments unless circumstances change. This will likely lead to new EU competition proceedings in the coming weeks, followed by daily fines of up to 5% of Meta’s average daily global turnover, starting from 27 June." www.techcentral.ie/meta-will-no...

Draft guidance on the Political Advertising Regulation is open for feedback here: commission.europa.eu/document/dow...

Europe’s privacy groups take on Big Tech with class action cases Coupled with the EU’s GDPR, a new collective redress tool could see tech firms face a new wave of massive cases.

📰 "Privacy groups see “a lot of potential” in collective redress as a new avenue, especially for GDPR breaches by Big Tech…"

👉 Politico on collective redress actions in Europe:

https://www.politico.eu/article/great-multiplier-europe-privacy-groups-class-action-against-big-tech/