People vs Big Tech

???? WIN: Our incredible co-founder Tanya O'Carroll has won a legal case against Meta! She took them to court after being served creepy personalised ads about her pregnancy. Now the tech giant has agreed to no longer show her targeted surveillance-ads on Facebook. If you're in the UK and would consider exercising YOUR right to object to these practices like Tanya did, People vs Big Tech member Ekō have created a tool for just that! Eko.org/object Read more details about Tanya's case and what it means for the future in Tanya's post below. ?? ??

Last night, Israel launched dozens of attacks on targets across the Gaza Strip. Palestinian hospital officials say more than 320 people have been killed. "At this point, it feels impossible to disentangle Big Tech with Israel’s apartheid regime and genocide of Palestianians," writes Alice McCool in The People vs Genocide, where she interviews fired Meta employee Saima Akhter about the company's bias on this issue. Alice also gives an overview of Big Tech's involvement in Israeli apartheid, including their deals with the Israeli military to provide them with cloud computing and AI services which help to select bombing targets, as well as an exploration of the real reason the US tried to ban TikTok... Don't worry: there's also a sprinkling of hope in there, too. Read the full newsletter here and subscribe to get future issues straight to your inbox. It's free! https://lnkd.in/eM-CJzku

?? New Report Alert! One of the key wins of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) was forcing Big Tech to be more transparent about platform harms - both to individuals and society. Platform must now assess these risks and show how they’re mitigating them. So, how did they do? As part of both the DSA Civil Society Coordination Group led by Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe, and the Recommender System Taskforce, we took a deep dive. The verdict? There’s a lot of room for improvement. Next time, platforms must: ?? Focus more concretely on design-related risks - especially regarding content recommendation algorithms (recommender systems) ?? Provide verifiable data on their mitigation efforts. ?? Engage meaningfully with civil society to ensure risk assessments reflect real-world harms. It’s time for Big Tech to step up. Read the full report here https://lnkd.in/gkkQSpdi #DigitalServicesAct #BigTech #Transparency #PlatformAccountability Access Now, AI Forensics, AlgorithmWatch, Alliance4Europe, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, Avaaz, Center for Countering Digital Hate, Center for Studies in Freedom of Expression (CELE), Civil Liberties Union for Europe, Committee to Protect Journalists, Das NETTZ, Ekō , Eticas.ai, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), EU DisinfoLab, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting, European Digital Rights, European Federation of Journalists, European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), The Future of Free Speech, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V., Global Witness, HateAid, Human Rights Watch, IMS (International Media Support), Integrity Institute, interface (formerly SNV), Internews, ISD (Institute for Strategic Dialogue), Association #Jesuislà #Jesuislà #Jesuislà #Jesuislà #Jesuislà à #Jesuislà , Mnemonic, Mozilla, Fundacja Panoptykon, Search for Common Ground, 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, 5Rights

If you are nerdy about how change happens, how to build inclusive movements across borders and sectors, or how to make sure technology works for people not just Big Tech profits, we'd love to hear from you! ** Remote role - can be performed anywhere in a Europe-friendly timezone ** To apply, please send a CV and a cover email (max 500 words) to: [email protected] and [email protected] by 23rd March EOD

Congrats to People vs Big Tech member Global Witness on this important piece of research on algorithmic bias in the run up to the German election last month ?? ??

"Facebook’s owner #Meta has this year led the charge against the EU’s #AI Act...with tech lobbyists in the bloc believing they can successfully water down implementation of a law considered the world’s strictest regime over the cutting edge technology." https://lnkd.in/ej2Pamgk

The new head of the US Justice Department’s antitrust division unites right and left with a sceptical view of big business. She has expressed concern about market concentration and said enforcement should be focused sectors that affect Americans’ daily lives, including tech. Could this mean US antitrust cases, aimed at breaking up the Big Tech monopoly, will go ahead under Trump? If so, this could be great news for digital rights around the world – but what will it mean for Trump's bromance with the Tech Bros? https://lnkd.in/eAnMvz8A

The internet was ?????????? to be a space where anything was possible and everyone has an equal voice. That feels less and less true - especially on ???????? platforms (owned by Tech Bro Billionaires) more than others ('decentralised' ones) Check out The People for a deep dive on the harms of Big Tech every fortnight and check out our suggested ways to push back! SUBCRIBE: blog.peoplevsbig.tech #PvBT #Memes #Newsletter #LGBTNews

When someone you don’t know asks for your personal information, most of us know it is probably a scam - especially when they promise the world. With the romance between AI and Billionaire Tech Bros strengthening, how do we know it is not a scam? Which governments (if any) promise to keep our personal information and planet safe? Head to https://lnkd.in/e_qQJ9EX to read all about it - brilliant reporting from Alice McCool. #PvBT #TechBros #AI

?? An important new investigation by Global Witness has found algorithms on X + TikTok have a far-right bias in Germany ahead of Sunday's election. Posts supportive of far-right AfD (who Musk has backed) dominated recommended partisan political content from accounts they had not followed. "We must ensure that platforms are transparent about why they recommend certain content. They must also be held accountable under existing legislation such as the Digital Services Act for how their algorithms influence elections, especially as we approach other critical elections in Europe this year," said Global Witness ?? ??