While it’s no surprise to see China, Russia, and North Korea ranking low on internet freedom, a growing number of restrictions in democracies is worrying.
Bandwidth
Advancing Transatlantic Cooperation on Tech Policy
Protect Children Online – Without Weakening Privacy
Europe’s proposed law to force Internet platforms to find, report, and remove online child sexual abuse material could overreach and dilute privacy protections.
Pragmatism Defeats Propaganda – Finland’s Move to NATO
Finland beat back Russian threats and propaganda to embrace NATO. Educational reforms and a free press played key roles
TRACKING TECH POLICY: Europe’s Drive To Regulate the Net
As technology shapes our societies, the European Union (EU) is moving to increase its government oversight.
Europe’s Tech Regulations May Put Free Speech at Risk
European legislators have agreed on a landmark Digital Services Act to combat online illegal speech. But the bill threatens freedom of expression.
Digital Differences will Not Stop the Champagne Flowing in Paris
When American and European leaders meet this weekend for the second round of the Trade and Technology Council, they will insist on transatlantic harmony.
What’s Old is New Again: Is Retrograde Telecom Policy Returning to Europe?
European telecom operators are once again knocking on doors of governments seeking relief from Big Tech for the costs of building and operating their networks.
Clouds on the Horizon: Europe’s Cloud Policy Threatens Transatlantic Digital Harmony
American companies dominate Europe’s cloud industry. The continent is struggling to find a coherent response and threatens to veer toward data protectionism.
Europe’s Publishers Take on Tech Companies
Europe’s new copyright rules have sparked a battle between publishers and tech companies – and might end up damaging both.
In Defense of Defense Spending: A Tech Opportunity for Europe
Europe has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with bold new plans to increase defense spending. A beneficiary should be its tech industry.
Elon Musk Versus Europe’s DSA: Tech’s Next Battleground?
If Elon Musk takes over Twitter, he will find his free expression dreams limited by the just finalized European regulation, the Digital Services Act.
Privacy Shield 2.0: More Than “Lipstick on a Pig”
The US and EU have announced a new privacy accord to guarantee transatlantic data flows. With political will and judicial common sense, it can succeed.
LEAK: US, Europe Agree On Democratic Internet Declaration
Europe and the US have agreed on a Declaration for the Future of the Internet, outlining a series of democratic principles.
To Interoperate or Not? A New European Tech Question
A Telegram subscriber wants to connect with a friend on WhatsApp. Right now, that’s impossible. Europe’s new Digital Markets Act may change this.
The New Iron Curtain Part 5: Russia’s War Against Silicon Valley
When he came to power, Vladimir Putin ignored the Internet. After discovering its power, he has tried to control it. Now, as he wages war in Ukraine, he wants to suppress it. He must not succeed.
Le Pen and Fortress France: “Au Revoir Facebook”
Marine Le Pen is no fan of Big Tech, and her policy proposals would marry tech-lash and protectionism.
Tech is Crucial to Saving Ukraine – and a Free Russia
As the Kremlin clamps down on Western social media platforms, Russians are losing access to independent accounts about the cost of the Ukraine invasion. At the same time, Ukrainians are using tech to broadcast the truth.
The New Iron Curtain Part 4: Russia’s Sovereign Internet Takes Root
In 2019, Putin signed new legislation to shut Russians off from information disputing the Kremlin narrative. Western tech helped build the censorship apparatus.
Banning Dark Patterns – Far From a Light Task
Dark patterns refer to how internet platforms trick and deceive users into clicking on something they don’t want to do.
Twitter in a Time of War: Russia Sanctions Should Include Social Media
The United States and Europe have banned banks, energy companies, and others from trading with Russia. They should now take the logical next steps and ban Russian officials and oligarchs from Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Making Sense of Big Tech’s Wild West Duel in Europe
The EU has agreed on its much anticipated DMA, designed to corral Big Tech. But it’s hard to tell whether the new rules will hit their target.
Europe Races to Build Gigafactories, Lithium Permitting
The European Commission wants to go electric to fight climate change and increase the EU’s share of global battery production. But watch out for lithium.
The New Iron Curtain Part 3: The Internet is a Western Plot
In 2017, Russia vowed to make its Internet sustainable and self-sufficient. In reality, the Kremlin undertook its first systematic effort to control its cyberspace.
Is Europe’s Tech Regulation a Gift to Russia?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that Europe’s defenses are fragile. The EU must learn and give more weight to security, including cybersecurity.
Beating Putin With Wind and Nuclear Power
By invading Ukraine, the Kremlin has jolted Europeans into an energy U-turn. But Russian energy will keep flowing, at least for now.
The New Iron Curtain Part 1: Putin Wakes Up to the Danger of a Free Internet
Inside Russia, the Internet remains up and running, and news from Ukraine has become more and more dangerous to Putin.
The New Iron Curtain Part 2: The Free Internet Stymies Putin
Despite Putin’s best efforts, it has become clear that Russia’s Sovereign Internet filtering system is ineffective.
Versailles, Ukraine, and the Rise of La Souveraineté Numérique
While European leaders met last week in Versailles to condemn Russia, their French hosts used the summit to push a protectionist agenda.
The Other War: The Kremlin Attacks Social Media
After years of skirmishes, Russia has declared war on Western social media. Companies must resist, argues this piece adapted from Tech Policy Press.
Beware Europe – Our Tech Regulations May Help Russia
As Europe moves to crack down on Big Tech, it needs to make sure that the new rules open no new doors to Russian aggression.
A Little Red Riding Hood Fable: Europe’s Telcos Cry Wolf
Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Orange want Big Tech to face a ‘levy’ for using their networks.
Avoid Tech Regulation that Opens the Door For Russian Cyberattacks
It’s not just Russian tanks and missiles that threaten Ukraine and the Western alliance. Its Russian cyberattacks.
X-Raying the DMA: Who will be a Gatekeeper?
Lawmakers in Brussels and DC are fretting over what counts as a digital economy bottleneck. The metric is slippery and risks sparking a transatlantic fight.
End Transatlantic Double Standards About Big Tech
When it comes to regulating tech monopolies, European and US policymakers are inconsistent.
Hungary Exports Nationalism Via Facebook
New research indicates that the Hungarian government is succeeding in leveraging social media to sell its illiberal messages among diaspora communities.
A Leading German Social Democrat Questions Europe’s Big Tech Crackdown
The EU is moving fast to introduce new market regulation instruments for a few large digital companies – without thinking through the implications.
Little Austria Throws a Giant Wrench Into Transatlantic Data Flows
Europe’s standoff with America over digital privacy may be coming to a head — sparked by a little-noticed court decision in Austria.
How do you say Amazon in Italian? Monopolista
European regulators are stepping up fines on Big Tech for antitrust and privacy violations before the Digital Markets Act risks diluting their authority.
Data Dilemma: Will Europe Favor Privacy or a Crackdown on Gatekeepers?
Europe is preparing a digital policy offensive designed to reign in Big Tech. But it risks creating a maze of incompatible rules.
Defending a Gallic Vision of Digital Sovereignty
Digital sovereignty is not anti-American. It’s an essential ingredient in the French recipe to protect democracy, argues Ambassador Henri Verdier.
Why Europe’s Digital Markets Act Will Strain Transatlantic Relations
The US and Europe are committed to confronting China’s tech offensive. But they risk serious divisions over anti-America European regulations
A Disturbing Marriage: Serbia and China Team Up on Digital Surveillance
Just as 2021 was drawing to its close, protestors blocked major roads in Serbia. They opposed laws perceived as benefiting global mining corporations.
A Common Digital Diagnosis, but No Common Treatment
While the US and EU agree on reigning in Big Tech, they are moving ahead at different speeds, creating the danger of a transatlantic digital traffic accident.
Want a Designer Handbag or Jeans? Don’t Look Online in Europe
New EU rules are poised to restrict online shopping and ban e-commerce marketplaces from charging low prices for products sold online
Poland’s Pegasus Gate: Digital Authoritarianism in the EU?
Authoritarian governments from Azerbaijan to Uganda first deployed it. Now democratic EU governments are joining in.
Poland Confronts the EU Again – This Time on Digital
Warsaw and Brussels clash on fundamental issues such as abortion and judicial independence. Now they are fighting over digital content moderation.
How to Kill Europe’s Robot Industry
Europe’s proposed law regulating Artificial Intelligence could end up destroying the continent’s promising future in advanced robotics
Digital Dirigisme To Dominate France’s EU Presidency
France will push hard to regulate US Big Tech and promote European tech sovereignty during its presidency of the European Council.
2022: Europe’s Big Year Ahead in Digital Policy
The EU’s ambitious digital policies face a moment of truth in 2022. Here is what you need to know to make sense of all the noise.
The Race to AI – Either the US and Europe Cooperate or China Wins
While the EU and US agree on the need to cooperate on AI regulation and offer alternatives to China’s authoritarian model, they are moving at different speeds.