Germany
Germany tasks Microsoft to control its federal cloud system
Germany appears to be sliding on its push for open source and digital sovereignty.
News outlet hit with copyright notice for simply reporting on The Mandalorian piracy
A film company made the claim.
Twitch’s secret “brand safety” score for streamers
A social credit-style system to determine how brand-safe a streamer is.
EU to propose digital “green pass” vaccine certificate this month
Countries within the region are divided.
Cologne mayor faces “hate speech” investigation after sharing an antisemitic post to condemn it
Europe’s laughable hate speech laws.
French President Macron slams Big Tech’s censorship of President Trump
Macron is still speaking out about the issue.
Government demands for Amazon user data increased by 800% in 2020
Amazon is a big holder of user data.
Google reinstates decentralized chat app Element after sudden ban
A federated alternative to Google’s own Hangouts and Duo Android apps got suspended from the Play Store without explanation on Saturday. Element (previously known as Riot.im) is one of the clients, and a popular one, for Matrix, a federated open source messaging protocol. Judging by the comment
EU calls on Joe Biden to crack down on online “hate speech”
The President of the EU Commission has made a public call for Biden to find ways to censor.
Study says Big Tech billionaires are motivated by pushing their view of democracy and meritocracy
The study concludes they’re in a “class of their own.”
Private and Encrypted Email Providers
Society has become even more dependent on online communications such as email and messaging services and email is of the most important aspects of our online life because it’s the address that links most of our accounts; it’s what we use to get logins and collect receipts. Access to our email
Encrypted email provider Tutanota reports more than double usual signups
The exodus from Big Tech is underway.