Big investigation by Peter and @lighthousereports.com out in the New Statesman today. (We spoke re NHS data.) There's lots beyond the NHS here. I thought I 'knew' TBI; even I was struck by the scale of what Ellison made - it dwarfs major think tanks like IPPR. www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Stop what’s you’re doing and read this from FoTI fellow and favourite web heretic @robin.berjon.com. And by all means disagree with it, but it is asking the right questions about money, power, and our future.

The internet's in a bad place. We're not winning. How can we turn things around? We need money. What parts of the internet 1) are still under democratic control and 2) are in a position to produce significant revenue? It's mostly down to Wikipedia. But there's more… 🧵

definitely something to this. not sure how you learn though www.unpopularfront.news/p/reflection...

My new piece in @the-independent.com on the UK's tech prosperity deal: The deal does not only leave the UK even more dependent on US tech companies, it also once again shows how out of step the country is with tech sovereignty debates in the rest of Europe. www.independent.co.uk/voices/starm...

Story below showing how a town got suckered into another data centre thinking it would boost growth. Emily here makes THE key point - so obvious to AI people I talk to that they are confused it needs explaining to ministers - data centres do not magic you up a tech sector. Paging UK Labour...

Nice, a Cold War Steve x Wired collab

Vor der EU-Kommission in Brüssel haben wir #Google heute symbolisch zerschlagen. Der Konzern kontrolliert große Teile des Online-Werbemarkts und missbraucht seine #Monopolmacht seit Jahren. Das schadet Medien, Demokratie und uns allen. Nur eine Zerschlagung kann das Problem effektiv lösen.

Do you know the "Three Moves to Stop Broligarchy"? No? In that case, come to MozFest to see the amazing @coricrider.com and yours truly talk about it! schedule.mozillafestival.org/session/15

Is Britain ready to cope with data centres❓ Our ED @ginasue.bsky.social was on BBC Radio 4 Today this morning talking about the environmental cost of data centres, US investment in the UK, and Nvidia's comments on natural gas and computing. Listen to the convo 🎧 ➡️ www.mctd.ac.uk/is-britain-r...

Whew! Fireworks aplenty at this debate at France Digitale Day between @gabrielzucman.bsky.social and Philippe Aghion. Appreciated Zucman for showing up to a tough crowd on tax policy and standing his ground. Packed audience, too - France is still v much a big ideas place.

Microsoft CEO claimed "investing in data centres was 'effectively' also investing in modernising the power grid but did not say that money would be shared directly with the UK's power supplier" In short: he will pile more demand onto the grid but won't pay for it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

tapping the "please support worker-led, billionaire-free, independent news" a bit more aggressively than usual

06:30 this morning, looking over Upper Loch Torridon towards Liathach.

OK States-based friends, I think y'all might be in need of an Adrian Chiles timeline cleanse. La: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Many years ago, I got into a nasty fight with the late David Graeber over a post I wrote, "The World Economy Is Not a Tribute System." Trump has been doing everything he can to make the argument for Team Graeber stick.

Less sexy than 🥂or cognac, 🇪🇺accounting standards are one of Europe’s best exports. Adopted by countries from Korea to Israel, European IFRS standards are more attractive for companies than the US GAAP alternative. Common reporting standards matter for accountability and investments on.ft.com/3VeDyVY

Interesting development

UK government report based on internal civil service trial finds Copilot doesn’t increase productivity, and indeed makes Excel take longer and with more errors, and requires Powerpoint users to have ‘corrective action’ applied to their outputs. www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/m...

@apnews.com: “Europe made an important stand for the rule of law today by pressing ahead with this first-step fine in the face of Trump and Big Tech’s bullying.” But: “If Europe’s enforcers flinch on a break-up in the end, Google will rightly chalk a fine up as a win.” apnews.com/article/goog...

Convo with @alixdunn.com about Blacksky is up! We talked about building a safer space for Black users on atproto, curation as moderation, and how communities build trust. We also covered our relay and how feeds reach apps like @flashes.blue so people keep their spaces + relationships across networks

We are starting to roll. We are not all the way there, mais **roulons**

Google's monopoly power rips off consumers, pollutes our information environment, and destroys the news media. Today's €2.95 billion fine is a start, but won't touch Google's toxic ad-tech monopoly. The EU @ec.europa.eu must hold firm and now break up Google. www.politico.eu/article/eu-s...

"But a mere fine in this case is not enough to deliver real and tangible solutions for the market and to protect our consumers." goes on to threaten breakup. DGCOMP dropping bars in this statement (on a Friday night, yeah, sigh). Super strong.

This is the way.

‼️BIG: @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu and DGCOMP just did *part* of the right thing: - slap Google with 2.95bn fine (not enough but given bullying by Trump and Big Tech, not nothing) - critically, order Google to stop abusing its dominance. If not: - Breakups on table This is game on, not game over.

Mario Monti is right. Europe is being tested. If Europe puts law enforcement on the trade table once, it will be made to do it again. What will the US demand next? What will China? A dangerous road we don't have to go down. US and Canada are seeking a Google breakup. Rolling over makes no sense.

Morning! Given a week of modest antitrust setbacks I'm re-upping a favourite Kanter quote for y'all: “We are not part of the chickenshit club. We’re here to litigate, not settle.” Win, lose. That's the law. Don't play, can't win. Loads left to fight for. www.promarket.org/2022/04/28/k...

US v. Google: a judge bars Google from paying to be the exclusive search engine on devices and browsers but allows it to make payments for product distribution (Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

☠️Europe has got to wake up and do better. News and arts depend on advertising. This sector is worth *billions* to Europe's economy, and Google has drained the value from it for years. A fine can't prise open the market. To balk even at that? Speeches about sovereignty are fine words until we act.

Shot / chaser. I struggle to see how these can be the same person. This - should it come to pass - will be (rightly) seen by challenger tech (and Big Tech) as the very capitulation the Commissioner just said Europe could not accept. Let us all hope Reuters is wrong!! www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

This sort of thing runs DEEP in US culture. One of the DC district judges I used to litigate in front of in Gitmo cases liked to hold off record status conferences in his chambers. First time I sat down, looked up and on the wall was a big portrait of - yep - Lee. Federal judge. Nation’s capital.

“We cannot be subject to the will of a third country.” Extremely strong statement from @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu about Europe's sovereignty - and its need to defend itself to deter bullying. Europe can build its own kit, break dependencies, and target enforcement. It's going to take all of it.

"extremism never triumphs on its own. It succeeds because others enable it—because of their ambition, because of their fear, or because they misjudge the dangers of small concessions." @dziblatt.bsky.social www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/hitl...

NEW: we've @foxglovelegal.bsky.social filed a legal case challenging plans for a hyperscale data centre in Buckinghamshire with our friends @globalactionplan.bsky.social. Gov has failed to properly assess environmental impact & huge energy and water consumption. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

OK people - I'm about to go for a last hurrah holiday before the autumn. Anyone got a great summer reading tip? Can be fiction or nonfiction - last things I enjoyed were Marshall Berman's All that Is Solid Melts Into Air, Anne Carson's Wrong Norma, and a sailing manual. So anything goes!

Really enjoyed talking to @alixdunn.com about how we beat tech monopoly. If you’re mulling one of the three new roles we are hiring for at FoTI (see my pinned post), have a quick skim while chopping tomatoes to get a little vibe check. Happy summer, y’all 🍅 www.themaybe.org/podcast/cons...

Pausing my summer social media break to share this excellent new investigation into Big AI's environmental footprint - across Chile, Mexico, and Spain - by @pjarandia.bsky.social. Check it out (español): elpais.com/tecnologia/2...

Public subsidies for billionaires: "growing evidence suggests that the electricity bills of some Americans are rising to subsidize the massive energy needs of Big Tech" apnews.com/article/elec...

“This is my duty…reporting the suffering of a people that I am living amidst, suffering that I am experiencing myself.” – Reporter Anas al-Sharif in what would become his final interview with us just weeks before being killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Full report ⤵️ youtu.be/YeQD6spHyEU

Last month, Anas al-Sharif sounded the alarm on starvation in Gaza. Israel accused him of terrorism. "We warned this felt like a precursor to justify assassination," said Jodie Ginsberg of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Today he was killed in a targeted strike on a tent housing reporters.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said US AI experts had 'revealed that Nvidia’s computing chips have location tracking and can remotely shut down the technology' https://on.ft.com/4oeRQ68

Insightful but dispiriting from @semaforben.bsky.social on antitrust woes in Trump 2 and the general Chaos Vibe www.semafor.com/article/07/2...

A lightning storm over the Badlands national park 7/21/25 🗺️

Crystal clear the Commission carries only part of the responsibility.

This article is still not alarming enough! Microsoft claims they've not seen a CLOUD ACT request for 🇫🇷 gov data. However, under section 702 & EO 12333, Microsoft must ALSO deliver such data to the NSA. US spies don't ask Europeans for permission to spy on 🇪🇺 govs! www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/m...

💥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

‘The best fables in the world have a sense of loss.’ h/t @abeba.bsky.social

Evan Ratliff has such a gift for these zany stories, man. Good gonzo weekend tech read

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza.