THE PERFECT STORM: A TIME OF TRUTH FOR EUROPE?

A room full of applause for Lina Khan to close out the day

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(2/2) Using a “top-down approach” comes with major risks of “blind spots.”

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(1/2) The FTC sought to ensure it was using all the tools it’s been given during her tenure, says Lina Khan. “Over the decades a whole swath of them had just become dormant.” The agency also ensured it was “listening to regular people—that’s in part just good government,” she says.

Happening now: Lina Khan's remarks, moderated by @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social and @capitolforum.bsky.social's Teddy Downey

(2/2) "There will be people who will want to turn back the clock, but it’ll be quite difficult to do."

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(1/2) Citing the FTC's success in blocking Kroger/Albertsons, Lina Khan says if you asked her four years ago whether she thought the agency would be able to achieve what it did in such a short time, her answer would probably have been no.

@capitolforum.bsky.social executive editor and CEO Teddy Downey sits down for an interview with Lina Khan to wrap up the day

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“Regulation should be done to empower,” says BrighterAI cofounder and CEO Marian Gläser. The EU needs to move fast, the world is moving on and “we shouldn't press the snooze button again.”

Trump doesn’t need a tariff threat to try to take over Greenland, says @protonprivacy.bsky.social CEO Andy Yen. The US president could simply get what he wants by saying he’ll order Microsoft, Google, Amazon and the like to stop operating there.

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📸 Snapshots from our last panel, “Algorithmic Amplification, Platform Power, Freedom of Speech and Tech Oligarchs”

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The problem or sovereignty is not a problem of tomorrow, it’s a problem of today and we have to address it. Great remark by Andy Yen @proton.me Ceo @bruxconf2025.bsky.social

The reason for Nvidia’s dominance in hardware, says German AI startup founder Jonas Andrulis, is “because nobody has a choice... These systems are so mature and so powerful that it's not easy to have a choice,” he said. “We can dislike that,” he added, “but it doesn’t change the reality.”

"Sovereignty can only come from strength and strength can only come from value," says Aleph Alpha founder Jonas Andrulis. "We have to build."

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“This is a do or die moment, I would say, ”says Axel Voss, Member of the European Parliament “We can’t take our time and have wonderful discussions any longer” on digital sovereignty and industrial policy.

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(2/2) If those contender platforms then grow their business and gain market share, they can impose competitive pressure that may pressure Big Techs to revisit their practices. If not, regulators could make certification mandatory for those platforms, he says.

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(1/2) Big Tech firms likely won’t rush to certify their platforms but rewarding smaller platforms who do so could be very useful, Lavie posits.

(2/2) We need to go beyond regulating the practices of Big Tech to their algorithms, which will reveal the true workings of the platforms, enhance transparency and avoid misinformation, Lavie says.

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(1/2) Bocconi University Prof Dovev Lavie ends the panel by proposing voluntary certification for platforms. “It can motivate a new generation of emerging platforms that have business models that are more stakeholder-oriented,” he says.

(2/2) Regain our sovereignty by allowing countries and citizens to sue Big Tech for causing instability. Age-limit social media.

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(1/2) Rolnik throws out his agenda to applause: Remove Section 230 protections for platforms that engage in surveillance. Consider banning platforms that push a political agenda. No fake accounts – bots should’t have free speech rights.

“Algorothmic amplification is the water that we are all swimming in now. And like fish, we rarely stop to question these waters. But we should,” warns University of Chicago Professor Guy Rolnik

“Disinformation is a wake up call for platforms and the tech sector,” @chionwurah.bsky.social adds. “It could be used to say there should be less competition because China is coming for our tech lunch. But we need competition in our own tech sector to counteract China.”
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That’s a key incentive of a business model where advertising drives revenue.”

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@chionwurah.bsky.social: “Freedom of speech is incredibly important and there are some tensions there. But the business model of the platforms means there is an incentive: there is a reward for lying and there is no reward for telling the truth...

“It’s great to hear that we’re not alone and that we’re still a part of Europe, even if we’re not part of the EU,” says UK MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, head of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, on the day’s discussion.

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Nikolay points to the anti-hate speech code that major platforms agreed to last week. These systems have proved very fruitful when it comes to protecting things like elections, she says.

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DG Connect Deputy Director General Renate Nikolay notes there’s no requirement in the DSA for platforms to take down content, responding to earlier comments from Jacob Mchangama. That’s for EU member states to decide, she says.

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Debate erupts between @alexandrageese.bsky.social and Jacob Mchangama. Free speech has historically been weaponized against minorities, Jacob Mchangama says in response to @alexandrageese.bsky.social's claims that some restriction is needed to protect the same groups.

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📸 A look at our last panel, “How Will Trump 2.0 Wield Antitrust Policy, and Deliver on Economic Populism?”

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"It's the algorithmic amplification."