Welp. The internet had a nice run.
Some outlets have lost over 90% of their traffic since the "AI" summaries rolled out.
"...the four worst-hit publications [now] get less monthly web traffic combined than the r/ChatGPT subreddit gets on its own."
We got Meta’s “general global playbook” for defeating advertiser verification regulations, which the company knows would reduce scams. It includes making scam ads “not findable” for regulators searching Meta’s ad library through targeted scrubbing.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
To grow its ad biz in China, Meta has relied on ad agency partners given the power to create special enforcement-protected ad accounts and share them with resellers. The system produces so much fraud that Meta internally calls China its top “scam exporting nation.”
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Can't imagine why this would be a problem at all
On a Wednesday!?
My colleagues @laurelinelmn.bsky.social and @mathver.bsky.social shared some thoughts on the DSA's application to OpenAI with TPP! See also their great analysis on the topic here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Europe needs an EU Sovereign Tech Fund. Open source software powers everything from healthcare to energy grids, yet it's chronically underfunded. Read the Public letter.
openfuture.eu/blog/public-...
New @lobbycontrol.bsky.social @corporateeurope.org data highlights tech lobbyists' tightening grip on EU policymaking:
📈 Total lobbying spend up by a third in 2 years
💼 There are now more tech lobbyists than MEPs
🗣️ Big Tech meets EU officials every single day
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/10/b...
Is it legal for publishers to force you to "consent" to a data free-for-all as payment for entering their sites & apps?
No.
Over the summer we have been talking to EU data watchdogs, detailing the case law and enforcement decisions.
www.iccl.ie/digital-data...
We'll be at #PrivacyCamp25 tomorrow! Join our colleague @lutecia.bsky.social at 9:55 to discuss all things strategic litigation. Our colleagues @nickbotton.bsky.social and @laurelinelmn.bsky.social will also be around, come chat with us!
More Google news. EC making itself clear here. "The Commission has already signalled its preliminary view that only the divestment by Google of part of its services would address the situation
of inherent conflicts of interest, but it first wishes to hear and assess Google's proposal." 1/2
since Google rolled out AI Overviews in your search results, median year-over-year referral traffic from Google Search to premium publishers down 10%
- Non-news brands down 14%
- News brands down 7%
- Yr/yr declines outnumber gains two-to-one
1/2
⚠️ Child Rights Impact Assessment: A Policy Tool for a Rights‐Respecting Digital Environment - just published o/a by @Livingstone_S @Kruakae_Noony #DigitalFutures4Children
@5RightsFound @MediaLSE #CRIA #DigitalEnvironment #ChildRights #GeneralComment25
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
BREAKING: The EU Commission has released a mandatory template for AI developers to disclose training data. Unlike the Code of Practice, this is not optional. It could have global fallout, as rights holders abroad might use it to sue over copyright.
digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/e...
NEW: The final draft of the AI Act's code of practice for general-purpose AI models is finally out.
digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/...
If you're going to #CPDP, don't miss the most important panel on online ads regulation that you'll ever attend! We'll talk about gaps that remain and how to fill them, covering privacy, transparency, DMA and DSA issues, and more!
Great to see @kzenner.bsky.social here, who just co-authored (co-inspired?) a great paper on a blueprint for European digital sovereignty. Added him here bsky.app/starter-pack...
The Algorithm Governance Roundup is out! This month we interviewed Aarushi Sahore a barrister @brickcourt about RTM v Bonne Terre Ltd and Hestview Ltd, a landmark case on consent under UK data protection in the context of online gambling.👇
eocampaign1.com/web-version?...
nice to see advertisers' adtech middlemen spending a bit more time on avoiding monetizing harmful content as opposed to suffocating high-value journalism brands due to politicized topics. 1/2
An Adalytics report shows how ad systems run by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and others inadvertently placed ads on a website that hosts CSAM (Thomas Germain/BBC)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
"The probe by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation will examine alleged monopolistic practices by the U.S. tech giant, which has had its search and internet services blocked in China since 2010 but maintains operations there primarily focused on advertising."
"The Will to Change" is even tougher! Both of them hit right in the feels
But also a life-changing one!
From Open Access to Collective Governance, report cover with branded Open Future background
Our latest report explores 20 years of EU policies supporting #digitalcommons and the shift from open access to collective governance of key digital infrastructures.
🛋️ Read more here: openfuture.eu/publication/...
Cc: @ngicommons.bsky.social @jankrewer.bsky.social
1/ In a groundbreaking ruling, the High Court today found that an online gambling company had unlawfully processed our client’s data. A 🧵 and analysis 👇 on the major implications for data processing in the gambling and AdTech industries.
https://buff.ly/3EiOvQX
🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Landmark ruling in AWO case – the High Court just ruled in favour of our client against Sky Betting & Gaming (Sky Bet), who profiled him for marketing without a lawful basis.
Our press release: https://buff.ly/40J9FR2
It’s time to reclaim social media! ✊🔥
Billionaires & monopolies shouldn’t control our digital lives.
Project @freeourfeeds.com is raising an initial $4m to build a public-interest alternative for social media, on the AT Protocol.
It's an ambitious, challenging project. Read more: freeourfeeds.com
Remember Google's great 'we will end third-party cookies in Chrome' swindle:
- Jan 2020: we will 'phase out' third-party cookies 'within 2 years'
- Jun 2021: we will 'end' doing so in late 2023
- Jul 2022: we may 'begin' doing so in late 2024
- Jul 2024: third-party cookies are staying in Chrome
