Wild idea: how about you don’t poison us for profit?
“The European Commission is planning to allow for wide-ranging exemptions from a proposed ban on substances known as PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, to protect key industries, German newspaper Welt reported on Wednesday.”
Mastodon becoming a US entity with a neoliberal board of directors and the goal of growth über alles is the issue here folks, not whether Eugen and company are compensated for their work. Of course they should be and well too. Or is that a privilege reserved only for the mediocre yes-people at the Googles and the Facebooks of the world?
If, on the other hand, maybe we’d like more folks to contribute to the commons and maybe not even be captured by Silicon Valley how about this radical idea: Fund them so they can live (at least as well) as any mediocre yes-person at a mainstream tech company.
BREAKING: Restoring Web Applications on iOS couldn't stop this from happening:
"#EUCommission fines #Apple over €1.8 billion over abusive App store rules for music streaming providers"
[...]
"Today's decision concludes that Apple's anti-steering provisions amount to unfair trading conditions, in breach of Article 102(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU')."
#Israel has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in the territory since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said #Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in the fighting and release of #Palestinian prisoners for the return of more #hostages.
If your best effort at regulating surveillance capitalists results in “give us €9.99/month not to see ads or use for ‘free’ with ads¹”, you should all probably resign and go hide your heads in shame.
And maybe watch my EU Parliament talk before you do:
🚄 What if you could travel through the EU for a month for free?
This year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Single Market, which allows us to enjoy free movement of goods, capital, services and people across the #EU.
That’s why we are giving away 10 prizes of two rail passes to explore Europe’s rich cultural heritage for a month.
🇺🇦📱🇪🇺 Roaming is a lifeline for Ukrainians in the EU.
It helps families, friends and loved ones stay connected.
Through collaboration with dedicated telecom operators, we’ve made affordable or free calls between the EU and #Ukraine a reality, all on a voluntary basis. But we're not stopping there. We're committed to secure a long-term solution by bringing Ukraine into the #EU free roaming area.
This is yet another powerful symbol that Ukraine’s future is within the EU.
The 5th annual conference of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) is taking place today. This is a good opportunity to read our study, which highlights the problematic and opaque role of the RSB in EU legislation.
@Jigsaw_You@geopolitics That depends, so far none. However, the #EUCommission is attempting to present a new data transfer agreement with the #US based upon a POTUS #ExecutiveOrder, which can be amended at anytime by POTUS, or by an act of the US Congress. I assume the EU Commission will eventually understand that agreements of this nature don't pass, even remotely, the requirements set by EU law and the EU Court rulings.
@Jigsaw_You@geopolitics In the end, good will doesn't suffice: #Meta must fulfill #EULaw to operate in The EU, that simple. Of Course Meta could lobby the US Congress to pass legislation consistent with that implemented in the EU, this issue is Meta's problem, not ours to resolve nor accommodate. Surprising the lack of functionality of, my otherwise beloved, #EUCommission on this issue: trusting international agreements to discretionary authority is a no-no.
Black box Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB): A new study highlights the problematic and opaque role of the RSB in EU legislation.
Its influence leads to a bias in favour of corporate interests, undermines the work of the EU Parliament and delays important legislation. It is time to limit the power of the RSB!
🛂 We want to make travelling across EU borders smoother.
That’s why we are launching a public consultation on the digitalisation of travel documents. Your contributions will help establish a common standard in the Schengen area.
Digital travel documents can be easier to issue than physical ones and can facilitate border checks.
This initiative aims to decide on a common format for digital travel documents.
I've taken part in a number of those pseudo-consultations regarding e-government or digital politics. The proposals to be commented never failed to "disappoint", always had a deeply Orwellian component.
And by now I know for sure that the "consultation" process isn't serious.
No amount of well-founded criticism from the public has had any impact whatsoever on those bandwagons.
The only effect is that the objections are there for all to see, for posterity maybe.
I made a bot that posts all lobby meetings of EU Commissioners and their Cabinet members! It lives here: @meetingsbot
It posts the dates of the meetings, who the meeting was with (including a link to the transparency register entry) and what the meeting was about. You can also only follow meetings of specific Commission members!
This is the first bot I've ever made, so let me know if you have any suggestions for improvements.