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Internet shutdowns in Africa: A human rights and democratic crisis
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan attends her inauguration ceremony in Dodoma, Tanzania, Nov. 3, 2025. Internet shutdowns in Africa: A human rights and democratic crisis Internet shutdowns have become a growing threat to Africa’s democracy. They are an increasingly common part of the authoritarian toolkit used by governments to control information and suppress dissent. Here’s why you should care.
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Databroker Files: All you need to know about how adtech data exposes the EU to espionage
Threat to privacy and national security. Databroker Files: All you need to know about how adtech data exposes the EU to espionage Our latest investigation has shaken up Brussels by revealing that commercial datasets containing 278 million locations can be used to spy on the EU and NATO. The European Commission has expressed its concern, Members of Parliament are calling for action. One thing is clear: ad tracking and data brokers threaten Europe’s security.
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Databroker Files: Targeting the EU
Hundreds of potentially sensitive EU employees can be targeted with openly traded cell phone location data. Databroker Files: Targeting the EU Precise locations and revealing movement patterns: the mobile phone location data of millions of people in the EU is up for sale. Collected supposedly only for advertising purposes, this data can also be used for espionage. European data protection is failing – even top EU officials in Brussels are affected. The EU Commission says: ‚We are concerned.“
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Open Internet Stack: The EU Commission’s vague plans for open source
The Commission’s plans are not really clear. Open Internet Stack: The EU Commission’s vague plans for open source An internal paper gives some clues about the EU Commission’s plans for open source policy in the future. An existing funding programme will continue under a new name and re-focus on commercial value. The document calls on the Commission to support open source in public administrations – and think about a new legal form. Many questions remain open.
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Constitutional law professor Anthony Kreis: Trump wants ‘strategic chaos’ to dismantle institutions
Anti-ICE protesters demonstrate in front of the Federal Building following the No Kings protest in Los Angeles on June 14. Constitutional law professor Anthony Kreis: Trump wants ‘strategic chaos’ to dismantle institutions U.S. President Donald Trump is increasingly behaving like a monarch. But across the United States, resistance is growing. We spoke with constitutional law professor Anthony Michael Kreis about the state of American democracy and whether it can withstand the pressure.
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Criminalising Online Sex Work: „This law will have international implications far beyond Sweden“
The narrative of protection through criminalization is misleading, says digital rights expert Yigit Aydin. Criminalising Online Sex Work: „This law will have international implications far beyond Sweden“ The Swedish government wants to make paying for sexual services online a criminal offense. The law could have global implications for online services and put creators at risk, warns Yigit Aydin. He fights for the rights of sex workers on behalf of the association ESWA.
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Global Majority House: How activists want to bring Global Majority perspectives into EU tech policy
The Global Majority House aims to promote a different view of the world in Brussels Global Majority House: How activists want to bring Global Majority perspectives into EU tech policy A coalition of global NGOs wants to engage in discussions about EU tech regulation. We spoke with Pakistani activist Nighat Dad about the initiative and the challenges of platform regulation. She says that now more than ever, the EU must take greater global responsibility for digital rights.
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Whatever it takes: How a European media platform could protect democracy
All EU countries have their own television news. Whatever it takes: How a European media platform could protect democracy We cannot counter propaganda on social media with laws. What is needed is a platform for European news – in all European languages. This is technically possible. We just need the political will, Matthias Pfeffer argues in this opinion piece.
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Interview with Paris Marx: The false narrative of a good Silicon Valley
US President Trump and Elon Musk in the Oval Office on February 11, 2025. Interview with Paris Marx: The false narrative of a good Silicon Valley The CEOs of the world’s largest tech companies have thrown their support behind Donald Trump. Some of them are even actively participating in his destructive policies, most notably Elon Musk. We spoke to tech journalist Paris Marx about Silicon Valley’s supposed mindshift and what kind of resistance is now needed.
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Open source funding on the brink: „Delivering what’s needed to make Europe sovereign“
A banner with stickers of projects that NLnet has supported. Open source funding on the brink: „Delivering what’s needed to make Europe sovereign“ The EU is paying a fortune for broken commercial software, criticizes Michiel Leenaars of the Dutch NLnet Foundation in an interview with netzpolitik.org. Together with his team, he supports open-source, free solutions — funded by the EU. But that could soon come to an end.
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Belgian data marketplace: EU continues to fund start-up behind passport data leak
Passport data for sale Belgian data marketplace: EU continues to fund start-up behind passport data leak The Belgian data marketplace “Databroker” openly displayed the names, dates of birth, and passport numbers of thousands of people on the internet. The start-up behind it continues to receive EU funding.
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U.S. Government: Leak allegedly reveals DOGE list of „wasteful projects“
List taken from the website dei.gov, accessed on February 11, 2025 U.S. Government: Leak allegedly reveals DOGE list of „wasteful projects“ A list of alleged „wasteful projects“ appeared on two newly registered U.S. government domains for approximately 30 minutes. It may be linked to the administrative coup of Elon Musk and DOGE. We are publishing the full text of the list.
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Databroker Files: New data set reveals 40,000 apps behind location tracking
Data about users of popular apps end up at data brokers Databroker Files: New data set reveals 40,000 apps behind location tracking 380 million location data from 137 countries: a previously unknown data set from a US data broker shows the dangers of global data trading. 40,000 apps are affected, including queer dating apps. For some apps, the shared location data is very precise.
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New Polish government: “No change has happened, absolutely none”
Katarzyna Szymielewicz studied Law and Developmental Studies. New Polish government: “No change has happened, absolutely none” We talk with Katarzyna Szymielewicz, president of the Polish NGO Panoptykon Foundation. How has the situation for digital rights changed since Donald Tusk took over the country’s government? What’s happening at the country’s Eastern border? What’s the state of the investigation into Pegasus? And are we all sitting in a sinking ship?
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The EU Parliament's last Pirate: „You can make a change even if you are low in numbers“
Markéta Gregorová, born in Most in northwestern Czechia. The EU Parliament's last Pirate: „You can make a change even if you are low in numbers“ We talked to Markéta Gregorová, currently the only Pirate delegate in the EU Parliament, about what she hopes to achieve in the next five years. She will continue her work on external security, especially Ukraine and China, and will keep tabs on chat control.
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Databroker: Belgian data marketplace publishes passport data of thousands of people
Shopping spree on the data market: Databroker was a place where you could fill your cart with, for example, passport data of people who had no idea it was happening. Databroker: Belgian data marketplace publishes passport data of thousands of people For weeks, the personal data of thousands of people was openly available on a data marketplace. It was only after we had alerted the Belgian company that they took the data offline. People from several countries were at high risk of data misuse and fraud.
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Next Generation Internet: EU apparently set to end open source programme
Next Generation Internet - no more. Next Generation Internet: EU apparently set to end open source programme The EU’s Next Generation Internet programme has supported free, open source software for years. But now a silent death seems to be looming: An internal document suggests that financing may soon end. Developers are surprised and call for the programme’s survival.
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Standstill in EU Parliament: How Conservatives are stalling the Digital Euro
Stefan Berger und Markus Ferber in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Standstill in EU Parliament: How Conservatives are stalling the Digital Euro The European Parliament is negotiating a law on the Digital Euro – until now, with no result. Leading the negotiations is the European People’s Party. The party has established connections to banks, which are critical of the project. We’re publishing a complaint from other Parliament groups.
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Data Broker Files: How data brokers sell our location data and jeopardise national security
Located. (The data on this graphic is randomly generated and illustrative). Data Broker Files: How data brokers sell our location data and jeopardise national security The AdTech industry is torpedoing the privacy of millions of people in Germany and is a threat to national security. But the underlying problem is global: databrokers sell location data without sufficient control. This is the summary of a joint research by netzpolitik.org and BR.
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Data Workers' Inquiry: The hidden workers behind AI tell their stories
A visualisation from the Zine "The Unknown Women of Content Moderation" by Botlhokwa Ranta Data Workers' Inquiry: The hidden workers behind AI tell their stories AI and content moderation would be impossible without the labor of millions of data workers. In a new project, these workers share their stories: from platform workers in Venezuela and Syria to employees of outsourcing companies in Kenya and content moderators in Germany.