Polish government’s proposal for a new law on “protecting free speech of social media users” introduces data retention, a new, questionable definition of “unlawful content”, and an oversight body (Free Speech Council) that is likely to be politically compromised. In this context, “Surveillance and Censorship Act” would be a more accurate name.

AI systems will soon determine our rights and freedoms, shape our economic situation and physical wellbeing, affect market behaviour and natural environment. With the hype for ‘problem-solving’ AI, claims for (more) accountability in this field are gaining urgency. Summary of the IGF 2020 session: Aiming for AI explainability: lessons from the field.

Our new report: To Track or Not to Track? Towards Privacy-friendly and Sustainable Online Advertising shows that it’s actually possible to reform the ad tech industry without bankrupting online publishers. But in order to make that happen, EU policymakers must create a regulatory push by enforcing the GDPR and adopting new rules which would incentivise the uptake of alternatives.

Dutch Foundation The Privacy Collective has sued tech giants Oracle and Salesforce for their online advertising practices. In the Netherlands alone, these two companies are processing millions of people’s data in a manner that is not GDPR compliant. Panoptykon stands with The Privacy Collective in wanting this case to go to court so that the companies can be held accountable.

In our submission to the DSA consultation, we propose a set of measures aimed at addresing the troubling societal and individual costs generated by business models of large online platforms.