Mathias Vermeulen
@mathver
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Now: Director @A__W______O / VUB. Then: EU Parliament + UN @mathver @bsky .social
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Pinned Tweet
Very proud for
@A__W______O
and in particular my colleague
@RaviNa1k
to be listed in the Chambers ranking of UK lawfirms after such a short period of time
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The Digital Services Act is a transparency machine. Platforms have to submit every 6 months a report describing their content moderation activities in the EU. The first reports are in and there’s a wealth of information in there. Thread
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Welcome European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency! ECAT is hosted by the JRC in Sevilla and will help the EU understand “how algorithms work”. It will analyse transparency, assess risks, and propose new transparent approaches and best practices.
#dsa
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Google Search, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Microsoft Bing and Linkedin make significant new commitments to provide access to data for researchers in EU Code of Practice on Disinformation today 🧵
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In a rare move, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet sends letter to
@vonderleyen
on the upcoming Digital Services Act
#dsa
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Bruce Schneier writes the definitive obituary for the blockchain hype in Wired
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As predicted. Press conference on European AI act deal starts now
#aiact
Everything you need to know about the AI act negotiations today. My prediction: the outcome will be messy, unfinished and everyone will claim they’ve won in the absence of a text, which might not see the light of day until late January.
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What we literally told everyone for 4 years during the EU
#copyright
wars: Google won't sign licensing agreements with press publishers in France, won't show snippets instead. Publishers, audience loses.
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Discuss the future of news on 01/03 w
@MarietjeSchaake
@anneapplebaum
@robwijnberg
@marconav
@rasmus_kleis
@facebook
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Four important studies were published in
@ScienceMagazine
and
@nature
which are based on unprecedented privileged access to Facebook and Instagram data. This thread collects commentaries about the studies.
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Here are the
#DigitalEU
strategy docs (pdf): (1) the AI White paper: , (2) A European strategy for data , (3) Shaping the EU's digital future (4) + Q&A
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The European Commission just released a groundbreaking study that for the first time provides a methodology to assess a systemic risk (in this case: Russian disinformation campaigns) as foreseen by the Digital Services Act🧵(1/8)
#dsa
#DigitalServicesAct
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Here's the final amended version of the Digital Services Act Time to relearn all the final article numbers!
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ICYMI: The EU is going to set up a European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency whose work will complement and assist the enforcement teams in the European Commission working on the Digital Services Act.
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Settled - Twitter is a Very Large Online Platform according to the Digital Services Act, and hence subject to a broad range of new due diligence obligations, including mitigating risks posed by disinformation and providing researchers access to platform data.
#dsa
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The
@EDMO_EUI
Working Group on Platform-to-Researcher Data Access, published its 182p report on how platforms can share platform data, including sensitive personal data, with researchers in a GDPR-compliant way.This work is important for multiple reasons 🧵
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The European Commission proposed its proposal for a regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising today and it really adds value to the DSA. Thread (1/15)
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Here are all the plenary amendments ahead of the Digital Services Act vote this week in the plenary of the European Parliament. Apart from the IMCO amendments very few of these will make it into the Parliament's position (but there are always surprises)
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L'espresso investigates
#HackingTeam
potential violations of the Sudan sanctions regime (in Italian)
http://t.co/BBPbdOHvMB
via
@SMaurizi
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Wow. GCHQ experiments with nationwide DNS filtering system ('Great Firewall of Britain') against hackers
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🚨 The European Commission just launched its European Democracy Action Plan. It announces the EU's intentions to regulate 'sponsored political content' online, beef up the Code of Practice on Disinformation and gives a peak into its platform accountability plans in the DSA. 🧵👇
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The EU reached a provisional agreement on the Digital Services late yesterday evening. What does that actually mean? Here's my explainer for
@techpolicypress
, including links to all primary source materials that are available now
#DSA
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Join us for a first quick analysis of the Digital Services Act on Thursday 17/12 at 10am with
@rochelag
@LubosKuklis
@EPirkova
@benwagne_r
@accessnow
. Register 👇
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TFW you open up a draft article after two months and hate it all since two months in platform regulation is the equivalent of a decade of developments nowadays
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Also: with the DSA entering into force next year in Europe
@elonmusk
will have to continue Twitter’s content moderation policies or face fines of up to 6% of Twitter’s global turnover and even a ban on operating in the EU in case of multiple DsA-violations 🤷🏻♂️
So exhausted by the Elon Musk news cycle but if you want my honest prediction it's that even if he succeeds in buying Twitter it won't make that much of a difference. He'll get a rude awakening about how content moderation actually works, get bored & move onto something else
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By far the most accurate report on
#copyright
lobbying until now. "Lumping in big industry players like Google with every other critical voice, such as NGOs and activists, and then tarnishing them both, was a successful strategy in this debate" ?
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Finally, this is again a reminder that the DSA is real, in effect, and produces changes. Legislators and regulators do take note.
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.
@CristinaBlasi
and I wrote an article for International Data Privacy Law on the murky legal practices of political micro-targeting from a GDPR perspective. It's publicly available now, just in time for the Eu's proposal for a political ads regulation 🧵👇
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There it is.
@RenewEurope
introduces a definition of dark patterns in the DSA, an obligation on platforms not to use them and an obligation to use fair consent choice screens. Significant work by
@charanzova
@Ansip_EU
@karmel80
@LSchreinemacher
@svenja_hahn
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Also a blatant violation of the ad transparency requirements in the EU’s Digital Services Act.
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Very happy with our
#YouTubeRegrets
campaign. Read the stories, but stay for the wonky (policy) details. (Thread) (1/9) It's important to finally hear from the public about their experiences with YouTube's recommendations.
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Platforms should share a range of data with researchers in order to scrutinize their role in enabling and amplifying disinformation. In this draft paper for
@knightcolumbia
I explain how the EU can facilitate this process and overcome
#GDPR
-concerns.Thread
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I'm very excited to officially launch what we've been working on in the past six months. Stay tuned for some very exciting projects in the future. And if you want to work with me, get in touch and apply here
#Jobs
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Today, the EU Commission released its initial assessment of the effectiveness of the Code of Conduct on Disinformation. TL;DR: we're in a better position than 12 months ago, but more needs to be done. Key problem? Access to platform data. Thread 👇
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Here's a searchable archive of the negotiation positions of all EU Member States before the Council adopted its negotiation position on the Digital Services Act
#dsa
from
@resetdottech
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Wonderful profile of my former boss
@MarietjeSchaake
who I had the pleasure to work with for four years. A true trailblazer, first in Europe - and now in the US, where she’s even more needed
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.
@A__W______O
is hiring a public policy manager to work with me on a whole range of EU digital policy initiatives, including the Digital Services Act. DM for more info, apply until 18 december!
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The European Commission is also recruiting for its brand new European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (based in Sevilla, Ispra or Brussels), looking for researchers, comms people, infosec officers and lawyers. Apply here
#jobs
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In this essay for
@knightcolumbia
I scrutinize how the EU can overcome
#GDPR
concerns to unlock access to platform data for independent researchers
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Dutch privacy regulator says ‘not possible’ to anonymize telecom location data – POLITICO
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This is one to watch: LA judge allows negligence claim based on theory that platforms are defectively designed products, causing addiction and harm to children (Social Media Cases JCCP, Cal. Super. Ct., No. JCCP 5255, 10/13/23) -
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Everything you need to know about the AI act negotiations today. My prediction: the outcome will be messy, unfinished and everyone will claim they’ve won in the absence of a text, which might not see the light of day until late January.
Today is D-day for the
#AI
Act. There is a lot of pressure to reach an agreement, and the stakes are very high. I have little doubt some sort of deal will be found, but there are several pitfalls to watch out for and constraints on all sides. A 🧵 on what you need to know. 1/12
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I wrote a short commentary for Stanfords
@journalsafetech
#TSRC2022
on developments in the EU to provide researchers w access to platform data, covering the Digital Services Act, Code of Practice on Disinformation,EDMO Code of Conduct & how they're linked
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Preview of my paper on how the Digital Services Act can impose a new obligation on gatekeeper platforms to provide access to platform data, & how a Code of Conduct on access to platform data in the context of art 40 GDPR can provide more legal clarity for platforms & researchers
On today's Data and Democracy podcast, Mathias Vermeulen (
@mathver
) talks to
@KGlennBass
about increasing access to platform data for researchers who study how disinformation spreads and how it affects discourse online.
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Next up were the amendments of the so-called Tracking Free Ads Coalition, which tabled a less radical alternative to a ban, focusing on the UX consequences of refusing consent to tracking based ads.This proposal was unexpectedly adopted (329+,303-, 60 abst)
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'Banning' targeted ads can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people.
@A__W______O
prepared this overview of all ongoing policy proposals and DSA/DMA amendments to reform online advertising
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If you scroll down X's developer's platform site you can fill in a form
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I did it 🤗🤗🤗 Thanks to everybody who attended!
Now
@Mathver
is a Doctor of Laws. His Thesis on Public
#Privacy
approoved by the promiment jury
@VUBrussel
today.
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Fascinating chart detailing why accounts where suspended. If you take away violations of Twitter's policy on spam and platform manipulation not a great deal seems to be happening..
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Had a great chat last Friday with
@justinhendrix
for
@techpolicypress
on what's next for the Digital Services Act
#dsa
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The European Commission is looking for input to answer the following questions by the 25th of may to inform its delegated act on access to data, a crucial piece to finetune Article 40 of the Digital Services Act.
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First up, X/Twitter . In terms of total numbers we see that account suspensions are by far the most used measure (2 mil) followed by restricting reach (90k) and removing content (54k).
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Interesting virtue signalling in the European Parliament today, where a tight majority (341+ 303-) called on the European Commission to contemplate banning targeted ads in the future. Also interesting to see that no new 'grand coalition' has emerged.. The shape of things to come!
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If we want evidence-based policies to assess the real impact of disinformation we need the help of independent researchers. Thats why
@mozilla
asked them to describe what data they would need in order to do their job. You can read their requests here (1/4)
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The EU Parliament agreed on what to do with targeted ads in the Digital Markets Act. New article 6.aa+new recitals 36a/36b.Also note the addition in 5a.Given the revised scope the DMA would now only apply to Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Booking (ht
@SamuelStolton
)
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I don't know anyone at this point who has applied or has successfully obtained access, under which conditions. The 12 VLOPs (Meta, YouTube, TikTok, Linkedin etc) which currently offer a researcher API all do this for free. I expect this offer to be free as well.
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One initial observation reading through the submissions for the consultation on the DSA's Delegated Act on Access to Data: we're going to have a very interesting discussion on scraping of platform data for public interest purposes. (1/3)
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Linguistic expertise of Twitter's EU content moderation team. Will this change in light of the 2024 elections in Finland, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia?
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Amazon v DSA: insights from interim proceedings at the Court of Justice of the EU by
@A__W______O
@21Loline
. One potential impact on article 38 DSA is this. To be continued.
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Very happy to announce the launch of the EU AI Fund, aiming to support civil society orgs working on automated decision making/AI. Budget for first call: 1 million euros, grants between 20k and 150k Apply!
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Important story in the NYT today on the effectiveness of Facebook’s efforts to fight disinformation. Some thoughts 1/10
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Calling all researchers to submit comments to the consultation on researcher access to platform data in the EU. This one is important as it will shape the legal obligation for platforms to hand over data under the Digital Services Act! Deadline 23 May!
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Am predicting that this will become a mammoth thread on the reform of intermediary liability in the e-commerce directive in the EU,or section 230 CDA in the US in the coming 4 years. Here we go!
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If we look at why content was removed it's clear that the DSA isn't exactly a 'censorship machine'
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However,there are some notable elements in the application form. In order to determine whether researchers are "independent from commercial interests" (as required by article 40.8.b) X asks information about a much broader category of affiliated entities to assess an application
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@DdJong
SP zegt dus: we gaan al deze demonstrerende jongeren van afgelopen weekend gewoon negeren
summary of the
#Copyright
debate: While across 🇪🇺 more than 100.000 citizen protest against
#Article13
, collecting society executives are holding up little yellow papers in support of the directive, while zipping champagne at the Paris book fair.
#SaveYouInternet
#Artikel13Demo
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Reminder: the final version of the
#DSA
proposal is likely to have some slight changes compared to the
@euractiv
leak, so hold on to your final analyses.
#devilisinthedetail
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Without end-to-end encryption in Whatsapp & other apps the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is dead letter
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This brings you to the application form which is pretty much in sync with similar forms that I analysed (new paper on this topic coming soon-ish btw).
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Here's one of the more controversial proposals from the EPP position on the DSA. Interesting twist on the 'what's illegal offline is illegal online' trope..). And yes, a blockchain reference.
@daphnehk
@hackylawyER
@davidakaye
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Please reach out to me if you have applied for public data on X and/or have obtained actually access to data.
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Important message from
@FrancesHaugen
in the
@FT
today to the negotiators of the Digital Services Act. The
#DSA
must provide for an acces to data mechanism for civil society; an independent mechanism to vet research proposals can provide that mechanism
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🤯🤯🤯
2K
4K
42K
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Open vacancies for AI and Algorithmic System Inspections at the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency of the European Commission, apply by Oct 19
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@FakePlasticRuby
Dit vat de review van
@FakePlasticRuby
van
#BillieEilish
in het Sportpaleis in Antwerpen goed samen
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Multiple deadlines in the next three weeks and of course now we’ll have a third lockdown with schools closed and no vaccines in sight for months. Mood:
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Where to read original stories about the Facebook Files today? 2 in Washington Post, 3 in Le Monde, 6 in Bloomberg, 5 in AP, 1 in Reuters, 6 in Politico, 2 in NYT, 2 in NBC, 5 in Financial Times, 3 in The Atlantic, 4 in Wired, 2 in Suddeutsche, 2 in The Verge.Happy reading y'all.
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Vestagher at "we cannot just leave decisions, which affect the future of our democracy to be made in secrecy in a few corporate boardrooms"
#governingplatforms
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I haven't seen many people walking around the streets wearing name-tags lately.
Manfred Weber backs blocking fake names on social media
EPP lead candidate argues online platforms should be treated like other public spaces.
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The Financial Times (the well-known lefty, anti-capitalist, anti-innovation newspaper) endorses the EU's Digital Markets Act in its editorial today
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Publishers didnt get an exemption for their content in the content moderation rules in Digital Services Act.But art.17 of the EU's proposed new Media Freedom Act does give publishers a foot in the door to demand "amicable solutions" for "unjustified restrictions" of their content
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Looking forward to speak at the LIBE-hearing in the European Parliament on fundamental rights issues in the DSA/DMA/DGA tomorrow morning
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France and Germany are responsibly for the bulk of information requests under art. 10 DSA
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