Digital sovereignty

Supreme Court Ditches X, Urges Canada to Develop National Communication Platform

The Supreme Court of Canada announced its departure from X (formerly Twitter), directing followers to its other social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This decision, affecting over 45,000 subscribers, shifts the court’s communication strategy. While the court offered no immediate explanation, its presence on X dated back to 2015. This move follows Chief Justice Wagner’s emphasis on open communication with Canadians.

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Habeck Calls for EU X, Slams Musk’s Platform

Robert Habeck criticized U.S. tech giants, particularly Elon Musk, for their hypocritical stance on free speech, advocating for stronger European regulation of these companies and their opaque algorithms. He highlighted Europe’s current lack of comparable digital infrastructure and called for the continent to regain control of its digital sphere within two years, suggesting the need for both regulatory action and potential investment in or acquisition of existing platforms. This sentiment mirrors broader concerns in Brussels, with proposals such as the EU purchasing existing platforms like TikTok’s European operations to mitigate the risks of foreign control. Ultimately, the urgency for decisive action to achieve “digital sovereignty” is emphasized.

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Zuckerberg’s Plea to Trump: Stop EU Fines on US Tech

Over the past two decades, EU penalties against U.S. tech companies, totaling over $30 billion, have prompted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to criticize the European Commission’s application of competition rules as akin to a tariff on American businesses. Zuckerberg contends that the U.S. government failed to adequately address this issue, leaving American tech companies vulnerable to EU actions. This criticism follows Meta’s recent €797 million fine for antitrust violations and coincides with the company’s termination of its third-party fact-checking program and DEI initiatives, moves perceived as aligning with a shifting political climate in the U.S. These actions reflect a changing legal and policy landscape impacting Meta’s operations in Europe.

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Russia Tests Internet Shutdown; VPNs Ineffective

Russia recently conducted a day-long internet blackout in Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia, blocking access to major foreign websites and apps, even those accessed via VPNs. This action, attributed to Russia’s development of a sovereign internet, follows previous tests involving site throttling and demonstrates a growing effort to control online content. Future plans reportedly include migrating Russian users to domestic web hosting services, further isolating the nation’s internet. These actions parallel similar, though more established, internet censorship practices in China, highlighting a global trend towards a fragmented “splinternet.”

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