When Musk speaks of “sovereignty”, he does not mean collective self-government. He means untouchable male power. That’s why he smears the EU as a “woke Stasi”. It’s an old script: Putin and his autocratic fanboys have long defamed the EU as “woke”, “gay” or “effeminate”.

Macron cut through the false dichotomy between regulation and innovation in Berlin today. Yes, Europe must cut red tape. But we must also accelerate enforcement of the very regulations - DMA and DSA - that were designed to protect people and businesses from Big Tech’s disproportionate power.

Voters across countries worry about the future of democracy, singling out extremism, disinformation and corruption as key threats. www.politico.eu/article/west...

President Macron in his speech on Germany‘s reunification today: “We were very naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and not interested in survival of our democracies.”

Good moment to remember that US foreign policy is also being reoriented to enable foreign censors and authoritarian propaganda around the world www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Das, was derzeit meinen Kollegen @dunjahayali.de und Elmar Theveßen widerfährt, dürfte z.T. auch eine orchestrierte Kampagne sein. In den digitalen Kloaken genügt es ja, jemanden zu markieren und dann wird das zum Selbstläufer, in rechtsfreien Räumen, denen sich bislang keine Kraft entgegenstellt. 🧵

We need to hear it: The top 15 countries in the World Press Freedom Index are all European. Universal healthcare covers almost 100% of Europeans. Only Europe has rules to curtail Big Tech, even if enforcement isn't perfect. Power in the EU is also female - even if equality isn't complete.

EU und UN verteidigen Internationalen Strafgerichtshof#IStGH#Sanktionen#EU

I’m honored to have been appointed Special Adviser to Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy and Justice. In this role, I will support the development of the European Democracy Shield.

The Commission preliminarily finds TikTok’s ad repository in breach of the Digital Services Act Such an ad repository is key to detect scams and fake ads, including during elections. TikTok now has the right to defend itself. The @ec.europa.eu will continue to enforce the DSA. europa.eu/!dTmBfT

NEW: The European Parliament has piled pressure on the European Commission on the matter of Hungary's possible use of facial recognition technology to identify Pride attendees — with 62 lawmakers signing a set of questions scrutinizing it. Exclusive, in Morning Tech: pro.politico.eu/news/197922

🚨 Just in: The European Commission fines Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act (DMA): - €500 million on Apple for failing to inform users about alternative apps outside the App Store - €200 million on Meta for its "consent or pay" advertising model

700 Millionen Euro Strafe gegen Apple und Meta#Eilmeldung#Apple#Meta

❗ Scoop: TikTok owner ByteDance is set to be hit by a privacy fine of more than €500 million for illegally shipping European users’ data to China, adding to the growing global backlash over the video-sharing app:

Jetzt für alle unübersehbar: Trumps Extremismus ist keine radikale Form konservativer Politik – er ist ihr Gegenteil. Konservative stehen für Frieden und Ordnung, Extremisten missbrauchen konservative Symbole, um beides zu zerstören.

In 2016, the U.S. launched a high-stakes investigation into Russian interference. Analysts went through mountains of social media data, trying to trace the Kremlin’s invisible influence on American discourse. Today, Kremlin trolls are out of a job—not because they failed, but because they won.

Deutschland als Diktatur – und die AfD will uns befreien? JD Vance schürte diesen Eindruck in München. Die neue US-Regierung übernimmt zT Narrative, mit denen Kreml & Rechtsextreme seit Jahren demokratische Institutionen attackieren: „Corona-Diktatur“, „Lügenpresse“, Kiew als „Nazi-Regime“.

Im Namen von “Leistung” wollen Tech-Magnaten nicht nur ihre Firmen, sondern Gesellschaften umbauen. Schwäche soll „ausgemerzt”, Minderheiten “beseitigt” werden. Maskuline Energie als Leistungsmotor—manche nennen es “Corporate Fascism”. Wollen wir Silicon Valleys Ideologien wirklich importieren?

Wie gefährlich sind Soziale Plattformen für die Demokratien Europas? Rettet uns #Regulierung? Wir diskutieren online mit @tonubasu.bsky.social @netzpolitik.bsky.social @janalbrecht.bsky.social und @kartte.bsky.social 13.02.25, 14.30 – 16.00 Uhr. Anmeldung hier 👇🏼 calendar.boell.de/de/event/boe...

Reminder: Today, 10 Feb, 5pm – Our #Spotlight on platform shifts, #disinformation and the German federal #election! With A. Watolla, @kartte.bsky.social & @jaalbrt.bsky.social. How is the #DSA shaping democracy? Registration open until 4:30pm. 👇 @stiftungmercator.bsky.social + @ivir-uva.bsky.social

Mo, 10 Feb, 5pm: Join our #Spotlight on platform shifts, disinformation & the German federal #election. How is the #DSA impacting democratic discourse & what about voter trust & campaigning? With Ann-Kathrin Watolla, @kartte.bsky.social & @jaalbrt.bsky.social 👉Sign up: www.hiig.de/en/events/sp...

Böll.Global | Die dunkle Macht der Sozialen Netzwerke: Kann Regulierung unsere Demokratie retten? Online-Diskussion mit @netzpolitik.bsky.social, Tonusree Basu und @kartte.bsky.social am Donnerstag, 13. Februar 2025 14.30 – 16.00 Uhr: calendar.boell.de/de/event/boe...

Mit dem SPIEGEL haben wir besprochen, warum die Bros so anfällig für rechtsextreme Propaganda sind

„Es ist geschehen, und folglich kann es wieder geschehen.“ Primo Levi

What a weekend. Before he's even inaugurated, President-elect Donald Trump has all the major tech platforms under his thumb. • Musk a MAGA henchman • Zuckerberg, Bezos vassels • Google in DOJ antitrust cross hairs • TikTok regards Trump as savior

So the public, not regulation, will stop Musk

In White House address, President Biden says "today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America."

📫 Heute bei @sz-dossier.de Platz der Republik, von Gabriel Rinaldi mit Matthias Punz, Tim Frehler und Elena Müller: 📢 Tiefgang: Ohne Aktionsplan gegen Desinformation in die Bundestagswahl, mit @kartte.bsky.social 📢 Der Kampf um fünf Prozent [1/3]

NEW: US alt-right platform Parler has reportedly set up office in Germany, according to Open Terms Archive. Is this part of MAGA’s information war on Europe? Unlike X, small platforms like Parler fall outside key provisions of the EU‘s Digital Services Act. opentermsarchive.org/en/memos/par...

⚡The clash between Musk and EU elites marks a shift in politics—one that Europe is unprepared for. We're moving from "identity politics" to a form of "reality politics". Faced with authoritarian-leaning tech giants, Brussels will not only have to defend its policies, but its concept of reality. 🧵

MAGA stalking Brussels: Why the EU’s clash with Musk is about more than regulation ⬇️

📫 Heute bei @sz-dossier.de Digitalwende, von Matthias Punz: 📢 Tiefgang: Ohne Aktionsplan gegen Desinformation in die Bundestagswahl, mit @kartte.bsky.social 📢 USA: Mögliches Tiktok-Verbot auf der Zielgeraden 📢 Plattformregulierung: EU und Großbritannien wollen standhaft bleiben [1/3]

People feel "censored" at a time when opportunities for self-expression are greater than ever. It's a paradox: because more voices are speaking, dominant viewpoints are increasingly confronted with dissent. The real issue is not censorship but a wide-spread inability to tolerate dissent.

"When conspiracy theories and nonsense cures are widely accepted, the evidence-based concepts of guilt and criminality vanish quickly too." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Ein einem Gastbeitrag für die @faznet.bsky.social vergleiche ich Musks Kampagne mit Putins hybridem Krieg. Die Analogie ist überspitzt, aber wichtig, denn Musk agiert nicht als rationaler Wirtschaftsakteur, der sich durch Regulierung und Strafzahlungen steuern lässt. www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...

@politico.eu's Brussels Playbook asked me if the EU's Digital Services Act could be used to stop Elon Musk's interference in European politics:

Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post cartoonist Ann Telnaes announces she's quit the paper because her editors wouldn't print a cartoon going after Big Tech and media oligarchs paying tribute to to Trump A new low in mainstream media's post-Trump meltdown anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-qui...

Meta appoints new Trump-friendly policy chief - https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/2/24334432/meta-trump-friendly-policy-chief-joel-kaplan-nick-clegg

Nicht, was Elon Musk sagt, sollte uns beunruhigen – sondern was er tut. Die 'Broligarchie', eine Allianz aus autoritäre Kräften, Oligarchen und den 'Tech Bros' des Silicon Valley, verfolgt ein Ziel: Staat und Gesellschaft dem Diktat ihres Willens zu unterwerfen, Kritik und Kontrolle abzuschalten 1/8

Authoritarians try to capture our media ecosystems - they have succeeded before

This is what foreign interference looks like now

Tech policy and political campaigning are no longer separate spheres.

@ec.europa.eu has opened formal proceedings against TikTok for a suspected breach of the Digital Services Act. Following serious indications of foreign interference in Romania's elections using TikTok. In the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable. europa.eu/!w7DbvY

#Desinformation wird oft von autokratischen Regimen gezielt verbreitet, um Demokratien zu destabilisieren. Mit @Kartte.bsky.social & Prof. Dr. @Jeah.bsky.social analysieren @tbbacherle.eu und ich Strategien für resilientere Demokratien. Anmeldung: www.gruene-bundestag.de/veranstaltun... #Demokratie

My latest for Tech Policy Press ↘️

A global, well-funded assault on democratic norms is reshaping reality, orchestrated by authoritarians and tech oligarchs alike, writes Felix Kartte (@kartte.bsky.social). We risk waking up in a world where authoritarians rule unchallenged, with Big Tech as their willing enabler.

A global, well-funded assault on democratic norms is reshaping reality, orchestrated by authoritarians and tech oligarchs alike, writes Felix Kartte (@kartte.bsky.social). We risk waking up in a world where authoritarians rule unchallenged, with Big Tech as their willing enabler.

Mit Handelsblatt habe ich über TikToks Rolle in #Rumänien gesprochen- und über die Strategien, mit denen Extremisten etablierte Medien aushebeln, um an die Macht zu kommen: in Rumänien, in den U.S.A., in Deutschland.

In Romania, a man who disdains democracy, the EU, and NATO is on the brink of becoming president. Călin Georgescu’s rise alarms Brussels, not for his views but for how it unfolded: via TikTok networks promoting his cult-like image, bypassing mainstream media.

With Musk's new role in the Trump administration, X is effectively turning into a government mouthpiece. Musk and Trump will likely harness the platform to enhance their power domestically, support their illiberal allies globally, and enhance both US “deal-making” and Musk’s business ventures. /1