How A Shady US AI Company Dodged Fines and Defied Regulators Across Europe Clearview AI’s saga in Europe underscores the clash between international tech firms and supposedly robust EU privacy laws.

Clearview AI was fined €60 million in Europe in 2022 for illegally harvesting photos and personal data of millions. It has yet to pay a single euro.

excited to have helped enable @lydiaemman.bsky.social's excellent investigation with Tarbell Grants!

wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...

How A Shady US AI Company Dodged Fines and Defied Regulators Across Europe Clearview AI’s saga in Europe underscores the clash between international tech firms and supposedly robust EU privacy laws.

#Clearview AI’s saga in Europe underscores the clash between international tech firms and supposedly robust EU privacy laws.

wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...

Clearview "hasn’t just dodged the rules — it’s ignored the process entirely."

Great reporting by @lydiaemman.bsky.social into the jurisdictional escape hatch that lets aggressive companies trading in biometrics escape EU law.

Critical State: It’s Worse than the Red Scare, Actually If you read just one thing this week … Trump’s war on Palestine solidarity.

This week's Critical State newsletter, ft.

- Saree Makdisi at @thenation.com

- Calum Farley & Rachel Goldwasser at @splcenter.org

- @lydiaemman.bsky.social at @wearesolomon.bsky.social

- @amnesty.org

- @n311.bsky.social at Inkstick

- Manuel Rueda at @prx.org

How A Shady US AI Company Dodged Fines and Defied Regulators Across Europe Clearview AI’s saga in Europe underscores the clash between international tech firms and supposedly robust EU privacy laws. Clearview’s refusal to pay fines and its claim of being outside EU jurisdict...

1/ Clearview AI’s saga in Europe underscores the clash between international tech firms and supposedly robust EU privacy laws.

New investigation by @lydiaemman.bsky.social in collaboration with @irpimedia.eu

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Unaccompanied Children Sleep on the Floor in Shifts in Greece’s 'Model Camps'. The EU Is Aware. Internal EU documents obtained through freedom of information requests and visual evidence from rights organizations on the ground, reveal systemic neglect of hundreds of unaccompanied children trappe...

For months, frontline EU staff deployed in refugee camps in Greece have been filing internal reports about the systemic neglect of hundreds of unaccompanied children.

In our @wearesolomon.bsky.social investigation, we reveal the scale of the disastrous conditions.
wearesolomon.com/mag/focus-ar...

Mit @lukashaeuptli.bsky.social und @oabdullah.bsky.social recherchierte ich zu den Zuständen in der «Safe Area» für minderjährige Geflüchtete auf #Samos. Doch die sind alles andere als «safe»: Die von der Schweiz mitfinanzierten Zentren verstossen gegen Grundrechte der Bewohner:innen!

Thread ⬇️

Unaccompanied children are being neglected in filthy, severely overcrowded conditions in one of Greece's 'model' camps

First-time visuals, FOI docs & insider testimony reveal systematic mistreatment in the EU-funded facility in Samos, which is seen as a blueprint for the EU’s new pact on migration

Our latest investigation into living conditions in Greece's 'model camps'

@lydiaemman.bsky.social @stavinoha.bsky.social @malichudis.bsky.social @supergalactica.bsky.social @maybulman.bsky.social

💥A new investigation by Solomon and media partners reveals systemic neglect of hundreds of unaccompanied children trapped in dire conditions in Greek camps.

The EU and the Greek government are aware.

wearesolomon.com/mag/focus-ar...

Unaccompanied Children Sleep on the Floor in Shifts in Greece’s 'Model Camps'. The EU Is Aware. Internal EU documents obtained through freedom of information requests and visual evidence from rights organizations on the ground, reveal systemic neglect of hundreds of unaccompanied children trappe...

“EU-funded #camps on the Greek islands fall far short of the very minimum living standards protected by human rights law, as recalled yet again by the @echr.coe.int,” - Minos Mouzourakis, lawyer at RSA

@wearesolomon.bsky.social

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💥Νέα έρευνα του Solomon και συνεργατών αποκαλύπτει εξευτελιστικές και επικίνδυνες συνθήκες διαβίωσης στις Κλειστές Ελεγχόμενες Δομές (ΚΕΔ) στα νησιά.

Η Ευρώπη και η ελληνική κυβέρνηση γνωρίζουν.

wearesolomon.com/el/mag/thema...

Greece gripped by massive strikes as suspicion and anger boil over On the two-year anniversary of a train crash that killed 57 people, national protests reflect despair over its handling.

It doesn’t help that two years on, a trial has yet to even begin amid constant delays in the investigation. Greeks have lost trust in their country’s judicial system, the surveys say, while the government denies any wrongdoing. www.politico.eu/article/gree...

2 years after Greece's deadliest train crash, victims and families await answers On Feb. 28, 2023, a passenger train and freight train collided, leaving 57 dead. New evidence suggests many may not have been killed by the crash itself, but by a fire that followed.

For @npr.org I covered today's general strike and mass protests in Greece & internationally as outrage over the 2023 #Tempi train crash, Greece’s deadliest, has reached a tipping point. Here's why more than 70% of Greeks suspect a government cover-up:

www.npr.org/2025/02/27/g...

Greece: the Commissioner calls for accountability for human rights violations committed at the borders and intensified efforts to honour the human rights of Roma Strasbourg 11/02/2025

During his visit, the Commissioner focused on the tragic Pylos shipwreck of June 2023. The Commissioner, who liaises closely with the Ombudsman, notes his important findings and encourages the authorities to take resolute action to ensure appropriate criminal and disciplinary accountability.

Charge Greek coastguard officers over deadly shipwreck, says ombudsman Investigation finds “series of serious and reprehensible omissions” in search and rescue duties.

Charge Greek coastguard officers over deadly shipwreck, says ombudsman

www.politico.eu/article/gree...

Ombudsman finds ‘reprehensible omissions’ in coast guard’s handling of Pylos shipwreck | eKathimerini.com An inquiry by the Greek Ombudsman into the June 2023 Pylos shipwreck that claimed the lives of over 500 migrants has revealed a “a series of serious and reprehensible omissions in the search and rescu...

An inquiry by the Greek Ombudsman into the 2023 Pylos shipwreck reveals “serious and reprehensible omissions” by senior Greek coast guard officers during the search & rescue operation & “clear indications of culpability” under criminal law for 8 senior officers

www.ekathimerini.com/news/1260535...

The Palestine Laboratory documentary episode 1 trailer YouTube video by Antony Loewenstein

Really looking forward to this two-part documentary, which I had the privilege of contributing to through research and reporting. Part I premiers on Al Jazeera on January 30—don’t miss it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtxs...

Thousands gather in Greece’s cities to call for justice in Tempe disaster | eKathimerini.com In one of the largest demonstrations in recent years at Syntagma Square in Athens, tens of thousands of people gathered on Sunday to demand justice for the Tempi disaster, joined by 97 cities across G...

In one of the largest demonstrations in recent years in Athens, tens of thousands of people gathered at Syntagma Square on Sunday to demand justice for the 2023 Tempe train disaster, joined by 97 cities across Greece and 13 cities around the world. #Τεμπη www.ekathimerini.com/politics/125...

Massive demo outside Greek parliament today as public outrage reignites over country’s deadliest train crash

New details have emerged about the 2023 #Tempi tragedy, including reports that cargo train involved in collision was carrying flammable materials

Catch my coverage on @npr.org newscast

Press release: NGOs on Samos uncover a covert operation against asylum seekers and the invasive use of technology in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre Hot off the heels of being condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for systemic pushbacks, Greece is also violating the rights of asylum seekers in the digital arena.  21 January 2025, Samos,...

The report by NGOs @ihaverights.bsky.social and Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) details apparent privacy violations and questionable data practices that underscore growing concerns over the role of technology in migration management

Read here: ihaverights.eu/samos-border...

Greek authorities subject refugees to invasive surveillance | Computer Weekly Greek border authorities are subjecting asylum seekers to invasive phone confiscations and artificial intelligence-powered surveillance, in another potential violation of European data protection laws

New report details how asylum seekers in Greece's EU-funded refugee camps are subjected to invasive phone confiscations & legally dubious AI surveillance systems

Findings include two Israeli defense-linked firms involved in surveillance at Greek camps

www.computerweekly.com/news/3666182...

TikTok Is Unavailable in the US—and Gone From the App Stores After President Biden declined to reassure Apple, Google, and Oracle that they wouldn’t be fined for giving Americans access to TikTok, the app’s hopes now hang on President-elect Trump.

For the first time in internet history, the US has officially blocked a global social media platform, joining the ranks of authoritarian regimes like China and Russia www.wired.com/story/tiktok...

Greece jailed “Pylos 9” despite knowing they were innocent as Egypt prosecuted the real smugglers The Greek authorities knew from Egyptian officials that the “Pylos 9” were not part of a smuggling network – yet these men spent a year behind bars.

Another important investigation reveals that Greek authorities knew the 9 Egyptians they arrested after the deadly Pylos shipwreck were not the real smugglers

By: @lydiaemman.bsky.social, @malichudis.bsky.social, Corina Petridi & Samh Labudi

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...

The Reunited | Piper French When I first spoke to David about the day US government agents took his son Arbi from him, the presidential elections felt a long way off. It was 2022

There has been a lot of great journalism on migration and borders recently. I want to highlight some pieces I especially found valuable in a small thread.

First up: "The Reunited" by @psfrench.bsky.social at @nybooks.com

www.nybooks.com/online/2024/...

Greece jailed “Pylos 9” despite knowing they were innocent as Egypt prosecuted the real smugglers The Greek authorities knew from Egyptian officials that the “Pylos 9” were not part of a smuggling network – yet these men spent a year behind bars.

#THREAD: An investigation by Solomon and ARIJ, in collaboration with @newhumanitarian.bsky.social, El País, and TAZ, uncovers evidence that Greek authorities knew the “Pylos 9” were not part of a smuggling network – yet these men spent a year behind bars.‼️

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...

Greece jailed “Pylos 9” despite knowing they were innocent as Egypt prosecuted the real smugglers The Greek authorities knew from Egyptian officials that the “Pylos 9” were not part of a smuggling network – yet these men spent a year behind bars.

Evidence clearing the "Pylos 9" was in Greece’s hands: witness statements, legal documents from Egypt & more. Yet survivors of one of Europe’s deadliest shipwrecks were wrongfully jailed for a year. The latest installment of our cross-border investigation:

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigatio...

Ναυάγιο της Πύλου: Πώς δούλεψε το κύκλωμα διακίνησης Στο δεύτερο μέρος της κοινής έρευνας Solomon, ARIJ, El País, TAZ και The New Humanitarian περιγράφεται με πρωτοφανή λεπτομέρεια η δομή και η λειτουργία του κυκλώματος πίσω από το φονικό ναυάγιο της Πύ...

💥#ΕΡΕΥΝΑ: Στο δεύτερο μέρος της κοινής έρευνας Solomon, ARIJ, @elpais.com, @taz.de, περιγράφεται με πρωτοφανή λεπτομέρεια η δομή και η λειτουργία του κυκλώματος πίσω από το φονικό ναυάγιο της Πύλου.

@malichudis.bsky.social, Κορίνα Πετρίδη, @lydiaemman.bsky.social
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Pylos Shipwreck: Greece knew the real smugglers Solomon's investigation–conducted in collaboration with the Spanish newspaper El País, the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the Arab investigative journalism network ARIJ, and The New Humanitarian–r...

#NEW: An international investigation led by Solomon and ARIJ reveals Greek authorities had evidence identifying the true smugglers behind one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks, yet they wrongly imprisoned nine survivors instead. #Pylos #shipwreck

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Pylos Shipwreck: Greece knew the real smugglers Solomon's investigation–conducted in collaboration with the Spanish newspaper El País, the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the Arab investigative journalism network ARIJ, and The New Humanitarian–r...

The power of cross-border investigations: "Solomon's investigation–conducted with various media outlets–reveals that Egypt informed the Greek authorities that the 9 survivors of the #Pylos shipwreck were not smugglers. Yet, the men stayed behind bars for a year. wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...