christoph schmon

Interoperability vs. Security: Why not both? www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

The EU Commmission presented the 𝗘𝗨 𝗞𝗜𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗰𝘁 to better protect children but its elements, from social media "delay" (gatekeeping the internet), "safety by design" (treating speech like a product) & age verification (privacy nightmare) come w/ fundamental rights concerns. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

The EU Commmission presented the 𝗘𝗨 𝗞𝗜𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗰𝘁 to better protect children but its elements, from social media "delay" (gatekeeping the internet), "safety by design" (treating speech like a product) & age verification (privacy nightmare) come w/ fundamental rights concerns. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

In case you wanted about 3,700 words on the problems with today's "settlement" that gives Meta way more power over how the internet works than it should have.

🌐 A ruling by the EU Court of Justice could deprive online platforms of liability protection because of how they organize and disseminate user content, wrote @tylium.bsky.social for @eff.org buff.ly/KoCPNxL

Why a recent Court of Justice case about drivers reporting police checks could cause collateral damage to freedom of expression in Europe. My latest piece argues that recent CJEU case law is eroding EU intermediary liability protections to the detriment of users. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

There is one proposal in the EU's Digital Omnibus - #GDPR #reform - that actually could simplify something for users: requiring online interfaces to respect privacy signals. It's time to kill the cookie banners. killthecookiebanner.eu

Intermediary liability protections (an important safeguard for freedom of expression) are being chipped away in the EU: ➡️ Russmedia: privileging content control ➡️ Coyote System: equating algorithmic organisation w/ control ➡️ AGCOM: expanding the notion of knowledge curia.europa.eu/site/upload/...

EU Commission plans for social media restrictions: -Phased access to social media+ paired w/ age verification -Safety by design -Parental controls & digital literacy -States may add restrictions for 13+ The report barely discusses the impact on fundamental rights. FoE is not mentioned once.

EU tech law EU General Court dismisses Apple's legal challenge to being listed as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (as regards the App Store and IoS) curia.europa.eu/site/upload/...

"The mere fact that its servers are based in Europe is not sovereignty if users are denied control." Fully agree.

"Defending democracy: Europe’s endeavours to resist big tech" Great article by Alice Johnson on how Europe is tackling the democratic challenges posed by Big Tech and AI through regulation and digital sovereignty. Glad that my perspective was included. www.ibanet.org/Defending-de...

Meta just lost a landmark EU case (C-797/23) on #fair #compensation for news content. ⚖️ The CJEU upheld Italy’s power to force negotiations between platforms and publishers + let AGCOM intervene on remuneration disputes. This ruling have repercussions across Europe. curia.europa.eu/site/upload/...

EFF joins 18 organizations in writing a letter to UK policymakers urging them to address the root causes of online harm—rather than undermining the open web through blunt restrictions www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

What is "digital fairness"? This is the central question of the EU's Digital Fairness Act For us, it means ✔️privacy: no pay for privacy ✔️freedom of choice: no dark patterns and manipulation ✔️user sovereignty: limit contractual/technical lock-ins+ remote lockouts www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

EFF is a great place to work! @eff.org We're hiring an Assistant Director of EU Policy to bolster our international policy work, i.e. • co-leading our legal advocacy efforts in Brussels • overseeing critical files related to tech regulation Check it out! www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.p...

The EU’s Chat Control plan, which would mandate mass scanning + other encryption breaking measures, has had some good news lately. But it's too early to celebrate. This is a zombie proposal. It keeps coming back and must not be allowed to return through the back door. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

When I first started doing free speech work way back in 1997 and harm-to-kids issues would come up (at that particular moment, the main concerns were 'satanic' music and violent TV), people would frequently admonish me that surely I would feel different once I had kids of my own 1/

The EU’s Chat Control plan, which would mandate mass scanning + other encryption breaking measures, has had some good news lately. But it's too early to celebrate. This is a zombie proposal. It keeps coming back and must not be allowed to return through the back door. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

Great jobs like this doesn't often come up in the tech policy space. Do apply if it fits with your professional aspirations, even if you don't meet *all* the job description criteria!

EFF is a great place to work! @eff.org We're hiring an Assistant Director of EU Policy to bolster our international policy work, i.e. • co-leading our legal advocacy efforts in Brussels • overseeing critical files related to tech regulation Check it out! www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.p...

We’ve just published the “DSA Human Rights Principles: A Global Perspective” to keep the DSA enforcement rights-respecting and globally informed. They address the Brussels Effect and outline concrete actions to protect fundamental rights across borders. www.eff.org/issues/princ...

𝐄𝐔'𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐃𝐏𝐑 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 Read here for a complete breakdown: www.eff.org/deeplinks/20... @eff.org

Must-watch: Cory Doctorow on the Daily Show, explaining how we can rescue the internet from “Enshittification”. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2e-...

After years of debate, "Chat Control", a dangerous law that could mandate mass scanning and weaken encryption, nears its final hurdle. Read here what is really cracking off. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20... @eff.org @thorinklosowski.com @fightchatcontrol.bsky.social

Hmm, excellent point by @tylium.bsky.social, I hadn't thought of that. I guess they would benefit from that immunity. I think of Article 7 as mostly aimed at ex-post investigations while this would require ex-ante (prior restraint) but it works for both. Since by way of Article 22(1) GDPR all

𝐄𝐔'𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐃𝐏𝐑 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 Read here for a complete breakdown: www.eff.org/deeplinks/20... @eff.org

With mandatory content scanning off the table, EU now moves to age verification. 🤯

After years of debate, "Chat Control", a dangerous law that could mandate mass scanning and weaken encryption, nears its final hurdle. Read here what is really cracking off. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20... @eff.org @thorinklosowski.com @fightchatcontrol.bsky.social

Finally free! Alaa Abdel Fattah has been released after nearly a decade of unlawful imprisonment in Egypt. There are many like him still imprisoned in Egypt for simply exercising their right to freedom of speech. Egypt’s government should release all those wrongfully detained.

"This portrayal of the DSA as a speech-censorship tool doesn’t fully correspond to the reality of how the law is drafted." Thanks to @cmaza.bsky.social for including my perspective on the U.S administration's fixation with EU regulation. www.nationaljournal.com/s/729535/jd-... @eff.org

We are supporting @bitsoffreedom.bsky.social to bring Meta's dark patterns to light: It’s not acceptable that users are steered into choices that undermine their privacy and agency. www.bitsoffreedom.nl/2025/08/28/b... @evelynaustin.bsky.social

We are supporting @bitsoffreedom.bsky.social to bring Meta's dark patterns to light: It’s not acceptable that users are steered into choices that undermine their privacy and agency. www.bitsoffreedom.nl/2025/08/28/b... @evelynaustin.bsky.social

not leaving home anymore without sun umbrellas and duct tape www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“We didn’t move your data - you did. That’s on you. Hope you weren’t expecting data protection rights.” @404media.co

age verification is also vague and obfuscate what is planned. imagine the following poll: do you agree that to access a website, -you- will need to upload ID or consent to biometrics? or you must ID verify through a third-party just to read a bluesky PM? the results will look very much different.

OH: one mainstream #VPN provider has seen U.K. subscriptions rise ten-fold 😏 thanks to the #OnlineSafetyAct 👏

“We didn’t move your data - you did. That’s on you. Hope you weren’t expecting data protection rights.” @404media.co

#ECJ: A vehicle manufacturer cannot be exempted from its liability for an unlawful defeat device on the grounds that an EC type-approval has been granted @Volkswagen 👉 curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/Jo...

don’t try to DM me on @bsky.app - apparently I’d need my passport just to read it.

The Online Safety Act isn’t working.

So you can't listen to Kneecap without either undergoing a facial scan or uploading ID documents. Please explain to me how this is not straightforward political censorship.

There's a real danger in pretending that social media bans and age verification will make the internet a safer space for young people. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

We support @wikimediafoundation.org legal challenge to the UK’s Online Safety Act. The OSA endangers Wikipedia and the global community of volunteer contributors. It also poses a serious threat to freedom of expression and privacy online, both in the U.K. and globally. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

No, Denmark is not planning to grant a "copyright" on physical characteristics. It's about the establishment of a right of personality (anchored in the Denmark's copyright law-ophavsretsloven), which will prohibit the unauthorized use of one's own appearance (+voice) by means of AI.

📣A VICTORY FOR PERSONAL PRIVACY!📣 In our case against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and DOGE, A NY federal district court judge has granted a preliminary injunction. (1/6)