Jan Penfrat

Policy guy @edri, working on platform regulation, content moderation, data protection and surveillance ads in Europe. For 15+ years in the Brussels maze.

Digital security trainer, Chief Degoogliser, cyclist, lover of the outdoors. Formerly writing for Golem.de.

Views my own.

Pronouns: he/him

#DSA #DMA #Surveillance #Decentralisation #Policy #Privacy #DataProtection #Cycling & #Bikepacking

Public Key

npub1eya88msdcs467yjgpw83fhjvkmlly0aq5ueu6euf3ruxw7m6ulpsfcd5k7

NIP-05 Address

ilumium@eupolicy-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvjwnnacxug2a0zfyqhrc5mextdllj87s2wv7dv7yc37r80daw0scpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qk0tjmg

Publishing to

relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub1eya88msdcs467yjgpw83fhjvkmlly0aq5ueu6euf3ruxw7m6ulpsfcd5k7

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Last Notes

2026-04-22 10:14:03 UTC

Youth organisations demand social media change, not bans
https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2089712/youth-organisations-demand-social-media-change-not-bans
#DigitalRights #FreedomOfExpression #AccessRights #children #SocialMediaBan

2026-04-22 07:14:49 UTC

#Mastodon looking smart today at @nprofile…unq8's Digital Public Infrastructure event in #Brussels.
Looking forward to your contributions here @nprofile…ruhq !
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/447/106/235/936/123/original/1e1191dd4b27350a.jpg

2026-04-14 07:23:24 UTC

#DigitalSovereignty when you think #BuyEuropean is the solution:
Germany’s Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger wants a European alternative to American data analytics giant #Palantir, he told @nprofile…nwl7.
“My preference is that we develop our own products and companies in #Europe that are competitive on the global market … That is why, in the long term, we want to rely on European alternatives,” Wildberger said in an interview.
#DigitalRights #Grundrechte #surveillance

2026-04-13 11:40:34 UTC

It would be really cute if it wasn't so costly: how so many people fall again & again for artificial hype creation in #AI:
1. Company says "our next model is super dangerous," we need to do this very responsibly. (But we'll sell it to whomever pays anyway. 🤷)
2. Journos blindly repeat industry claims without verifying them. "It'll destroy the world!"
3. Gov'ts demand "early access" & concede that "the future of our #security is now reliant on the future of AI."
#Anthropic #Mythos #AIhype

2026-04-08 06:08:15 UTC

"#Australia says it can’t go it alone on #SocialMediaBan for kids" is the "Help us open Hormuz" of tech policy:
Doing the wrong thing despite everyone telling you it ain't the solution and then complaining about others not helping when you fail.
Even the Australian rep to the #EU now admits that we need "substantive, enduring change globally to the algorithms and a change to the design behaviours of big tech companies," according to Politico.
Sad they only realise it now.

2026-04-07 08:12:17 UTC

The @nprofile…fu0r’s #DigitalServicesAct enforcement cost about €15 million less than anticipated in 2025.
"The surplus comes as the cost of human resources was some €8 million lower than estimated, with operational and administrative expenditure some €7.5 million lower," wrote Politico.
In other words: the Commission has difficulties hiring the number of staff it needs to hold #BigTech accountable.
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=COM(2026)147&lang=en
#DSA #PlatformRegulation #EUpolicy

2026-04-07 07:04:11 UTC

#Palantir opens shop in #Brussels, expect sales and #lobbying to happen. :trashfire:
https://www.lesoir.be/735626/article/2026-03-19/lentreprise-americaine-palantir-lance-une-filiale-en-belgique
#surveillance #StateSurveillance #Policing

2026-04-04 12:36:13 UTC

It's quite damning that the folks behind the #BrowserGate investigation about #LinkedIn's hidden data theft programme have opted to sue #Microsoft in court for #DMA infringement rather than submitting a complaint for public enforcement to the @nprofile…fu0r.
It looks like they have little trust in the EU Commission to do that job quickly and effectively enough. 🤷‍♂️
https://browsergate.eu/
#DigitalMarketsAct #competition #DataProtection #GDPR #privacy

2026-04-01 19:24:36 UTC

The @nprofile…fu0r announced it is exploring a new EU-US “dialogue” on digital rules, as Washington piles on the pressure over how the EU enforces its tech laws.
“If confirmed, this is nothing short of complete capitulation to the #Trump admin’s coercive tactics,” said #Greens MEP @nprofile…krke.
“No need to do this,” said liberal MEP Sandro Gozi. “The Commission must implement the #DSA + #DMA, not discuss them with the US. It’s a clear attempt to slow down implementation and weaken enforcement.”

2026-04-01 09:03:13 UTC

Very insightful write-up by @nprofile…demm of what happens to your data when you verify your #Linkedin account.
In short: don't.
https://thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/
#Privacy #DataProtection #CloudAct #GDPR

2026-03-25 08:24:07 UTC

Reason number 43,756 why a #BuyEuropean tech policy or mandate makes no sense:
https://www.heise.de/en/news/USA-bans-all-new-routers-for-consumers-11222049.html
#DigitalSelfdetermination #DigitalSovereignty

2026-03-25 08:15:53 UTC

“There is a certain level of tiredness in #Brussels when it comes to responding to these talking points from #Washington,” German center-right MEP Andreas #Schwab told POLITICO in response to the U.S. ambassador to the #EU's latest threats against Europe's digital laws.
Very diplomatically put, this is true.
#DSA #DMA #AIAct #DigitalRights

2026-03-09 19:02:10 UTC

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@nprofile…dymg OK, but that's not what the prompt does is it? I wonder now whether we've read the same thing.... 🤔

2026-03-09 18:47:20 UTC

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@nprofile…dymg Nothing. My criticism is directed at this particular project using this particular prompt and then argue that it could produce any reliable output to "better" the EU.
And yes, this part of the prompt asks the model to very broadly consider anything politicians say as untrustworthy:
"That the rhetoric of politicians rarely, if ever, translates into effective action at improving the lot of the poor, so should always be treated as suspect and not taken at face value."
Makes no sense.

2026-03-09 18:26:38 UTC

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@nprofile…dymg To be totally honest this looks dumb, as in the bias is already so obviously built into the prompt. It:
* directs to hardcore liberals like Friedman and Hayek,
* assumes the EU is currently somehow not "on the world stage in terms of wealth, prosperity, individualism, liberty, and greatness,"
* instills inherent distrust in lawmakers, where only small government and private enterprise will save us.
No surprise if the result is an ideological hell scape of deregulatory nonsense.

2026-03-02 08:41:22 UTC

"The Belgian #Competition Authority announced Friday it has launched a formal investigation into #Google’s online #advertising business, over suspicions that the search giant may be in breach of the law.
The agency said that it would look into whether local #publishers and advertisers have become so reliant on Google’s infrastructure that they are left with no viable alternatives." - via Politico Europe
#antitrust #gatekeepers #belgium
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/158/682/417/065/466/original/9a1318603c581f68.jpeg

2026-02-25 09:21:57 UTC

Hey @nprofile…fu0r, is it normal that I have to execute #JavaScript from an #AWS #WAF server in order to consult the official publications of #EUlaw applicable to me?
Is this part of this #DigitalSovereignty thing I hear so much about? 🤔
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/130/529/783/210/097/original/7968df1259be12de.png

2026-02-21 15:33:31 UTC

Wow, I just installed the latest #LinuxMint with #Xfce desktop on a 19 year-old #iMac with a beautiful 20" screen (4gb RAM, 1tb disk) and it's 😍
Absolutely usable for web surfing, emails, documents, like all normal office use. Blown away by just how good old hardware can perform if one uses the right software.
Big kudos to everyone contributing to @nprofile…x5p2 ♥️
#Linux #reuse #recycle #sustainability
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/109/331/796/242/955/original/b85b0ff2a73aea60.png
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/109/334/826/084/296/original/8a93f92eae6cf44a.png

2026-02-13 08:50:54 UTC

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1/ Online #backups: Since last year, #Signal offers encrypted online backups. All messages as well as media files from the last 45 days can be saved on Signal servers for free, and retrieved in case your phone breaks or is lost. That's a massive #usability improvement over the previously (and still) available local #backup option. Go activate it now!
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/062/462/455/674/573/original/60aa63565510a385.jpeg

2026-02-13 08:49:21 UTC

Here are 7 awesome (new or newish) features in @nprofile…kyv9 many users seem to have missed but will probably want to use.
(Some of them I think are only available on Android at the moment?)
A quick thread 🧵
(Note: If you're triggered to comment on centralisation, AWS, Google Push, or believe that Signal is secretly run by the CIA, no need to reply. We know you're there and appreciate you.)

2026-02-01 11:13:15 UTC

My #fosdem learning today: #Linux on phones has made huge progress since I last checked.
The fact that non-techy people can buy Linux phones off the shelve that just work *and* are really slick devices is 🤩🤩
It's crucial for us to be ready as a community when #Google finally takes away #AOSP from us.
Check out the phones from @nprofile…yl6j and @nprofile…u2gh.
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/995/071/660/798/182/original/c33904c7ab7ad7ce.png
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/995/071/691/566/688/original/8e9010144f80884d.webp

2026-01-24 19:48:03 UTC

What seems to become clear is that an armed population or a society full of trained militias does not, in fact, protect a country against the emergence of a tyrannic government. #uspol #trump #ice #nazis

2025-12-09 11:38:27 UTC

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@nprofile…ks6m The account that was terminated by Musk wasn't the Commission's X account but their ad targeting account in X.

2025-10-22 12:49:25 UTC

“We are aware that #OpenAI has published average monthly user numbers in the EU for #ChatGPT, above 45 million,” @nprofile…87np spokesperson Markus Lammert told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. “We are assessing the information,” on whether and how ChatGPT falls under the #DigitalServicesAct #DSA.

2025-10-09 18:42:07 UTC

"Asking enslaved people if they actually want to work the plantations for free would kill the cotton industry."
-- Nick Clegg
#AI #AIcon #exploitation #BigTech
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/115/345/666/872/754/205/original/f829b91bae7a95ce.png

2025-07-14 08:58:23 UTC

LOL
The French National Assembly is looking to move to #Microsoft-powered cloud #Bleu — a #France-based joint venture between #Orange and #Capgemini, set up with the Big Tech giant to offer its ubiquitous software suite in a “sovereign” fashion. Lawmakers seek to keep using Microsoft’s email, office and videoconferencing tools while “taking #sovereignty into account,” according to Politico.
#DigitalSovereignty #AssembleeNational

2025-07-14 07:16:32 UTC

#Apple: We need to lock down devices against #competition to protect user #privacy!
Researchers: The #AppleWatch collects vast amounts of intimate #health and #fitness data. Users have little choice regarding how this data is processed. We publicly #reverseengineer the watch's wireless protocols and discovered multiple #security issues. We break out of Apple's #WalledGarden demonstrating practical #interoperability with enhanced privacy controls and data autonomy."
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.07210

2025-06-30 10:47:49 UTC

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Clear comments by alternative #AppStores on #iOS:
* With Apple's anti-competitive (and #DMA-busting behaviour) no one can compete
* #Apple disadvantages #FOSS apps while its iOS itself (and many more Apple software) relies on free and open source software
Apple lobbyist respond with a big strawman how "everyone wants us to give away everything for free." No one ever asked for and the DMA certainly doesn't require that.

2025-06-30 10:36:25 UTC

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#Apple lobbyist following up with a frontal attack against the open web, claiming it is a "Wild West", a terribly dangerous place, that only a single trillion-dollar company that is in full control of you digital life can tame. What a dumb thing to say.
#DMA #DigitalServicesAct

2025-06-30 10:24:49 UTC

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#Apple presents how it will charge developers who distribute their apps without Apple's involvement (outside the AppStore) with a new fee, the #CTC (yes, it's just a renamed #CTF Core Technology Fee).
IMHO no world in which Apple remains a #gatekeeper over which code people run on their devices and, worse, demands money for it, cannot be compatible with the #DigitalMarketAct.
#DigitalRights #SoftwareFreedom #DMA

2025-06-30 10:16:15 UTC

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Now discussing the #DMA's #AppStore provisions and #Apple just keeps on whining like a 5-year old child about how the world is treating it so unfairly.
Haha and they said the thing I expected them to: "The Commission must respect Apple's human rights!" 😆

2025-06-30 08:22:47 UTC

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The bottom line of #Apple's talk at the Commission workshop:
We *invented* innovation and it's only thanks to Apple that developers exist. They should bow to us every day and pay us money forever because without Apple, there wouldn't even be users. Or even anything digital. Users must pay us too of course. The #DMA will destroy digital and we'll be back living in caves. (I'm paraphrasing a bit.)

2025-06-30 08:13:43 UTC

Today I will spend hours in the @nprofile…4kmp's #DMA workshop with #Apple so you don't have to. It'll be painful, it'll be funny, it'll be hot! 😆
The workshop starts with Apple lawyers speaking time in which they are supposed to explain how they comply with the #DigitalMarketsAct. Instead, they waste everybody's time with marketing BS and pointless rants against the law (or as they say "the Commission's interpretation of the law").
What a waste.

2025-06-11 18:16:44 UTC

America: We will take #Greenland, by force if necessary!
Denmark: No no, don't! Take #Denmark instead!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/11/denmark-vote-defence-bill-us-airbases
#defence #europe #ukraine #trump #military #nato

2025-05-08 13:29:06 UTC

Dear #EU lawmakers, repeat after me:
MAKING #TIKTOK EUROPEAN DOES NOT SOLVE ANYTHING!
Thank you.

2025-05-06 09:42:47 UTC

The @nprofile…4kmp's Executive Vice President for tech #sovereignty Henna #Virkkunen canceled her appearance at the #EU Parliament’s working group on the #DigitalServicesAct scheduled for today, which she has repeatedly done.
Also: the following working group discussion features a national enforcement authority (#ACM), a professor, and two corporate lobbyists. Zero #CivilSociety. 😠

2025-04-09 07:10:39 UTC

At a #Mozilla event in #Brussels this morning about "#privacy-first online #advertising". I am _very_ curious where this weirdest of things Mozilla does is going. 🤔
Speakers: Petra Wikström, policy person at #Schibsted, @nprofile…lrlt, @nprofile…9nj5's Svea Windwehr and Mozilla's own Martin Thompson.
#onlineads #SurveillanceAdvertising #TrackingFreeAds #gdpr #dataprotection

2025-04-08 14:47:13 UTC

#Apple #iOS age restriction blocks all #browsers except #Safari, breaks choice screen
https://open-web-advocacy.org/blog/ios-age-restriction-blocks-all-browsers-except-safari-breaks-choice-screen/
#iphone #DigitalMarketsAct #DMA #OpenWeb #digitalrights #competition

2025-04-07 20:11:42 UTC

#Stipendium in Kooperation mit dem #SWR #XLab und @nprofile…7nr8:
10.000 EUR, 6 Monate
"Finde neue Lösungsansätze mit #Mastodon & Co. für die journalistischen Herausforderungen im Umgang mit sozialen Plattformen und entwickle funktionierende #Prototypen!"
https://www.media-lab.de/de/angebote/reinvent-social-platforms/
#Fediverse #Journalismus #ÖRR #ÖffentlichRechtliche

2025-03-23 09:14:03 UTC

Must-read account by #UN special rapporteur Francesca #Albanese of how my home country #Germany, its politicians, universities and #police have threatened, intimidated and silenced her during her last visit.
https://zeteo.com/p/germany-tried-to-silence-me-a-un
#FreePalestine #Gaza #Israel #genocide

2025-03-20 16:42:24 UTC

This is wild: We kindly asked #X to fix their damn #TrustedFlagger online forms and for 4+ weeks nothing happens, they basically ignore our deadline.
Then we spend days preparing and filing a legal complaint under the #DigitalServicesAct for infringing Art 22(1) DSA and, within hours, X makes the changes to comply, the exact changes we asked them for.
https://eupolicy.social/@edri/114195689980850692
This makes me:
1. angry b/c we could have done this the easy way.
2. happy b/c it proves the DSA is a sharp sword.

2025-03-15 10:30:23 UTC

It's wild to realise over and over again just how beautiful this planet of ours is.
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/165/975/965/505/062/original/61d254a4fa9d664e.jpg

2025-03-13 13:15:48 UTC

Great winat the #ECJ today!
#Hungary can’t demand proof of gender assignment to correct an Iranian #refugee’s #gender status, the #EuropeanUnion’s top court ruled today.
The ECJ ruled that an EU Member State "may under no circumstances make the exercise of the right to rectify incorrect #personaldata subject to the production of evidence of sex reassignment surgery," as it would undermine the "essence of the right to the integrity of the person and the right to respect for private life." [1/2]

2025-03-12 16:06:45 UTC

Großartiges Interview in der #FAZ mit @nprofile…6m28 über Plattformmacht, #DSA, #DMA und ob Europa jetzt #Tiktok kaufen sollte.
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/svea-windwehr-ueber-ein-europaeisches-soziales-netzwerk-110341461.html

2025-03-05 09:48:51 UTC

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@nprofile…yh6f Ha fun. Where are files hosted while being edited? On #Telegram servers? 😬

2025-03-03 07:18:15 UTC

This is how independent oversight looks like in the US: the president can just fire everybody.
When are you going to pull the plug from EU-US #datatransfers dear @nprofile…4kmp ?
Deafening #Commission silence with no credible #EU-US data oversight left
https://www.euractiv.com/section/tech/news/deafening-commission-silence-with-no-credible-eu-us-data-oversight-left/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it
#gdpr #Dataprotection #privacy #HumanRights

2025-02-26 13:10:32 UTC

#Firefox will continue to support #adblockers in move to be better than #Chrome.
Finally some good news coming out of Mozilla. :)
https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-manifest-v3-adblockers/

2025-02-19 22:20:40 UTC

How is it possible that an interview of Digital Commissioner #Virkkunen by 3 seasoned reporters on #DSA enforcement turns out so incredibly tame and shallow?
Such a missed opportunity to press her on:
* what kind of info are your teams still requesting from #X after 1 year of investigation?
* what if #platforms refuse compliance & drag on court cases for years?
* shouldn't we consider holding individual platform owners liable?
https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/121620-037-A/we-can-t-negotiate-our-values
#digitalservicesact #bigtech

2025-02-19 08:28:25 UTC

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@nprofile…tf29 Not great actually. I hit some stumbling blocks last autumn and then other work swooped in and since then I was unable to continue.
I was amazed by just how complex JavaScript has become since I last used it in highschool 25+ years ago 😆

2025-02-18 10:24:22 UTC

Interesting discussion in the EU parliament right now: while @nprofile…4kmp and #MEP Andreas #Schwab celebrate the #DigitalMarketsAct as a success, #Google competitor #Ecosia slashes it as "utter failure" and calls for a revision #DMA 2.0 to "step up the game".
Their argument: one year in the law has led to zero change on the market.

2025-02-10 12:48:05 UTC

EXCLUSIVE from @nprofile…sws4: #France, #Germany, and the #Netherlands are set to publish a paper later this week asking not only to cover #AI and #cloudservices under the #DigitalMarketsAct but also to update the #DMA's list of obligations & introduce a supervisory fee for #gatekeepers. 💥

2025-02-07 11:54:24 UTC

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Yay great news: @nprofile…mwa0 has won in court of first instance against #X which compelled the company to provide research access to publicly available data to assess interference with German federal elections. 🎉

2024-03-02 20:10:26 UTC

🎉 The folks at @npub1vmv…xwcu and #AIforensics have made a formal data access request to the 🇩🇪 #DSC #Bundesnetzagentur under the new #DigitalServicesAct.
They seek to obtain #research access to internal #Microsoft data to check whether and how the company is making sure its not-so-intelligent #AI #Copilot isn't bullshitting around in dangerous ways.
Kudos to @npub1ayn…7zpd and #ClaraHelming for leading this work!
https://algorithmwatch.org/en/dsa-platform-data-request-2024/
#DSA #transparency #bigtech #digitalrights #eupolicy

2023-09-26 07:54:15 UTC

This is wild: The #Chatcontrol #CSAM proposal, "the most criticised EU law touching on tech in the last decade, is the product of the #lobby of private corporations and law enforcement."
Commissioner #YlvaJohansson "ignored academia and civil society" while "she shook hands with #BigTech to (...) legalise mass #surveillance and break #encryption," said @npub1q2u…hsgq's @npub12ga…2fy8.
Full investigation: https://balkaninsight.com/2023/09/25/who-benefits-inside-the-eus-fight-over-scanning-for-child-sex-content/
Quote source: https://civicrm.edri.org/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=434&cid=20951&cs=ab889874b15d5f0d27a23c53f09571a7_1695659129_168
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/111/127/244/456/836/069/original/7047c12fc8821c42.png

2023-08-14 06:04:52 UTC

If you ever considered donating to strategic litigation orgs like @npub1pr2…2dec, or host your own servers ethically like with @npub1jjy…vwkx, now is the time:
"#Youtube-dl Site Goes Offline as #Hosting Provider Enforces Court-Ordered Ban"
https://torrentfreak.com/youtube-dl-site-goes-offline-as-hosting-provider-enforces-court-ordered-ban-230809/
#copyright #youtubedl #sony #warner #universal #rightsholders

2023-07-30 06:06:23 UTC

Today is a good day to run away as far as you can from the #Chrome browser (and anything else from #Google really).
https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/27/google_web_environment_integrity
Chrome -> @npub100c…gkwp #Firefox
Search -> @npub1stq…euam @npub10f0…a9tt or #Duckduckgo
Gmail -> @npub1wjw…ue5t #Mailfence or @npub1353…6cat
Maps -> @npub16l6…4zxy or #OSMand
Android -> @npub1vts…9jkh's #eOS or @linegeos@fosstodon.org
Play Store -> @npub1z2j…r69f
And for full-blown liberty: @npub1skd…ze4l :)

2023-07-18 14:35:11 UTC

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@npub198t…hasj the internet/connection password yes, but the local WiFi password? What the heck do they want this one for?

2023-07-18 14:25:32 UTC

Just received a new, #ISP-issued #modem / #wifi #router at home after a lightning strike destroyed the old one.
The new device stores all the settings including the WiFi #password *in the cloud*.
As we all know, nothing bad has ever happened to a large number of passwords stored on a server. #securityfail #proximus #belgium #internet

2023-07-12 16:47:55 UTC

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@npub1437…ranm Hm, I don't think I would go as far as dismissing the Guardian for this. It's an opinion piece after all, and the Guardian is very much all there is left between the status quo and a Britain entirely devoid of public interest journalism.

2023-07-12 15:21:10 UTC

It is frightening to see how #journalists (even those supposedly knowing about #media, like #MargaretSullivan @npub1q4h…sj93) realise how and why #Twitter failed them and us as a digital public space but entirely fail to draw any meaningful conclusions for themselves. Instead they willingly stumble into the next #platform dependency that will harm independent #journalism and degrade public discourse.
https://eupolicy.social/system/media_attachments/files/110/701/787/311/689/787/original/4f57fbe4a95ef891.jpg