The European Commission put a 120M EUR fine on X for DSA violations. But as the European politicians cannot get themselves to leave the platform, it shows the issues with how they understand how power works on social platforms.
X Marks the Spot: Unpacking the EU's First DSA Fine
Explore the implications of the European Commission's €120 million fine on X for DSA violations. Discover the legal reasoning and future enforcement trends.
Digital sovereignty can’t be bargained away
The European Commission has tools, public support and a mandate to act on Big Tech. Trading that away for short-term calm would be a costly mistake.
W Social, public institutions and the theater of European digital sovereignty | Hacker News
And weirdly, there was never a peep about this in the press - while the W Social launch was on national news and a bunch of high-profile EU politicians immediately joined. What's going on here?
Commission fines Google €890 million for breaches of the Digital Markets Act
Today, the European Commission took two decisions finding non-compliance by Google with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering). In this regard, the Commission issued Google a fine of €460 million and a fine of €430 million respectively.
From Brussels Template to UK Tailoring: How the DMCCA Is (Re)writing the Rules for Big Tech - The Platform Law Blog
By Dr. Konstantina Bania The UK has built a “rival” to the EU’s Digital Markets Act – and it is now starting to use it. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is moving from abstract principles to concrete, platform‑specific rules for some of the most powerful […]
Age assurance across Europe: how countries are safeguarding minors online
In 2024, regulators and online service providers fully aligned around the Digital Services Act (DSA), a groundbreaking piece of legislation that regulates the provision of online services within the EU, regardless of whether the provider is based in Europe or not. This year, the focus has shifted to implementing these legislative principles in practice. In particular, measures aimed at safeguarding minors have gained significant momentum, with age verification being a key example.
Elena Rossini 🌈 (@_elena@mastodon.social)
#WSocial will open up their beta program today… and I have a SCOOP for you: it appears that they have quietly gone closed-source! This is ironic, considering that the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu just unveiled their Tech Sovereignty Package, emphasizing the importance of #OpenSource. And yet they have migrated their main ATproto accounts to W Social - whose code can no longer be inspected! My full article - with a great analysis by @aral@mastodon.ar.al: 🔗: https://blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-public-institutions-and-the-theater-of-european-digital-sovereignty/ #FOSS #DigitalSovereignty #BigTech
Digital Omnibus: What Would it Mean for Competition and Privacy in Advertising? - The Platform Law Blog
In November 2025, the European Commission (“Commission”) proposed a “Digital Omnibus” regulation to amend several EU legislations.[1] Although presented as a simplification exercise to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, the proposal revisits key provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the e-Privacy-Directive concerning the use of personal data, including for advertising purposes. The changes could […]
FR#166 – No Change
Many people in Europe see the open social web as a path to digital sovereignty. This week demonstrated a problem: the assumption that European governments actually want to be sovereign.
In Russmedia Ruling, the GDPR Displaces Europe's Rules for Online Speech
The ruling shows the serious problems that can arise when European courts rely solely on the GDPR, writes Daphne Keller.
Privacy as EU Tech advantage - The LeafPlaza Blog
Online crime loves legal massive data collection, grey systems, and jurisdictional gaps. Privacy-first design can actually reduce crime exposure and build trust in digital services. It is also central to the EU's tech autonomy: build systems aligning with European rights and risk models. Do not rely on foreign platforms or copy outside practices that might go against the EU values and needs.
X Is a Power Problem, Not a Platform Problem
Fediverse Report #148: X is not a just platform problem anymore, it's a power problem, and why you cannot compete as platforms with power.
Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
"Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it."
W-Social: What does sovereignty mean for social media? – Open Future
The European Commission’s move to W-Social frames it as a European alternative to X, but its closed-source code and reliance on Bluesky’s infrastructure show that sovereign social media requires open infrastructure—not European ownership alone.
EU-AI | Igor L.
The geopolitical landscape is shifting from physical borders to digital infrastructure. Here is a factual breakdown of how a $500 billion investment in "Sovereign AI" is changing global power dynamics. The Shift: From Land to "Substrate" Historically, a nation’s power was defined by its territory and legal systems (the Westphalian model). Today, power is increasingly tied to the compute substrate—the physical hardware and energy required to run AI. 1. Infrastructural Enclosure The "Sovereign Compute Coalition" (SCC) represents a massive consolidation of power. Major private entities are acquiring the three pillars of modern national strength: * Hardware: High-end AI chips (e.g., Nvidia). * Energy: The massive power grids needed to fuel them. * Data Centers: The physical "brains" of the digital economy. 2. The Rise of Technocracy As private companies own these essential tools, governments may find themselves in a position where they effectively "rent" their ability to govern. This moves decision-making power away from elected officials and toward those who control AI infrastructure. 3. Europe’s Strategic Response Europe is launching several initiatives to avoid becoming a "client state" of foreign tech providers. The strategy focuses on four main channels: * 8ra Initiative: Building a decentralized, multi-provider cloud-edge architecture to ensure data remains under European control and interoperable across borders. * ReArm Europe: A strategic defense package (presented in March 2025) aimed at boosting industrial competitiveness and reducing strategic dependencies in technology and defense. * Sovereign LLMs: Developing domestic models, such as Mistral, that are designed to align with European data privacy standards and cultural values. * Energy & Procurement: Using public procurement and new regulatory frameworks to create demand for homegrown, sustainable energy-efficient compute solutions. The goal of these moves is #DigitalSovereignty : the ability for a region to control its own digital destiny without relying exclusively on transnational monopolies. Data tells the real story. Are you following it? Follow #datanomics
