On the relationship between Big Tech and media, @margaridasilva.bsky.social says she sometimes sees uncritical coverage of astroturf groups and think tanks primarily funded by Tech (without disclosure) and compounded by a media tendency to maintain access, politeness. #ijf26

‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility A worker died at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse last week. Employees were told to look away.

A worker died at an Amazon warehouse in Oregon last week.

For more than an hour, workers were instructed to continue working as the man lay dead.

One worker wanted to help, but a manager told them to “Just turn around and not look. Let’s get back to work," according to @thewesternedge.bsky.social.

The Counter - Helpdesk for activists challenging corporate power - SOMO The Counter helps activists hold multinational companies and their owners accountable for their destructive and unfair business practices.

Also, feel free to message me if you would like to know more about @somoamsterdam.bsky.social 's tech work and even how to use our pro bono corporate research helpdesk, The Counter.
www.somo.nl/the-counter/

Thrilled to be going to @journalismfestival.com to talk Big Tech lobbying with the amazing @carolecadwalla.bsky.social
@nataliaviana.bsky.social @bramvranken.bsky.social

If you are around and want to know how to expose Big Tech power, join us!

www.journalismfestival.com/programme/20...

I avoided optimism for a long time. I didn’t want to believe in false hope about the election. But last night something broke — and I almost cried. Sixteen years of weight lifted at once. It feels like a celebration. And knowing that young voters made the difference? That means there is hope. 3/1

Feels a bit like everybody was in the French resistance ... now

🍾🍾🍾

It's not just that Orbán losing inspires hope in other competitive-autocratic countries ruled by right-wing nationalist authoritarians. It's that his loss materially changes things in those other countries, because he's been operating as a headquarters and funding source...

Hungarian Leader Orban Concedes Loss in Landslide Election Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban conceded defeat to Peter Magyar in Sunday’s parliamentary election.

Now begins the work of extricating Hungary’s public assets from the transnational far-right networks that the Orbán regime has built using them.

🟢 AI is no longer just a tech issue. it's at the heart of Europe's democratic future. Who controls the data? Who writes the rules?
Join our conversation with best-seller journalist @karenhao.bsky.social & MEP @alexandrageese.eurosky.social on 22 April! calendar.boell.de/en/empire-of...
@boell.de

Google, Amazon, Meta refuse to disclose the intermediaries they use to hire data workers.

To break this secrecy @somoamsterdam.bsky.social analysed 100s of documents, incl. press reports, trade union statements, annual accounts & promo materials.

Here's what we found www.somo.nl/big-tech-set...

Super useful reporting. When there's talk about AI for good, sovereign AI, or even alternative social networks, not enough is said about improving the conditions of the data workers that actually make it all possible

Big Tech sets unfair terms and conditions for AI data workers globally - SOMO Behind most AI products are thousands of workers who label, annotate, and clean data. Their work is essential but largely precarious and invisible.

Big Tech relies heavily on thousands of data workers for their AI products.

While these workers are hired through intermediaries, Big Tech firms are responsible for their unstable and unfair working conditions.🚨

Read our analysis: www.somo.nl/big-tech-set...

Algorithms decide who works, who earns — and who gets cut off 🚨

#PlatformWorkers are managed by systems they can’t see or challenge. That’s not innovation — it’s exploitation.

📅 June 2026#TimeToDeliver rights for Platform Workers!

🔗 Learn more: buff.ly/ZIw43Bh

Meta and YouTube designed addictive products that harmed young people, jury finds Jury in Los Angeles awards plaintiff damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder

💥 Some good news to start the day with. Google and Meta have been found liable in the US for their addictive algorithms.

🫵 Now it's up to @michaelmcgratheu.bsky.social to press ahead with the Digital Fairness Act, and resist the tech industry's lobby offensive to get the proposal scrapped.

Almost Two-Thirds of Europeans Back Replacing US Tech, Poll Finds EU leaders are pursuing digital sovereignty plans to reduce the 27-country bloc’s dependence on the United States, writes Mark Scott.

Almost two-thirds of Europeans polled believe that replacing American tech services with European alternatives is a good idea, but those surveyed are divided if that shift is realistic, according to YouGov research shared with Tech Policy Press. Contributing editor Mark Scott details key findings.

Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case

Here's the first cut of our story with a gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/t...

given the size of the legal teams here and the length of this trial, i would not be surprised if meta and google ultimately spend more on their lawyers than what they actually will have to pay in compensatory and punitive damages to the plaintiff

Using economic power to expand political power

Using political power to accumulate economic power

A new lawsuit is alleging that Google's Gemini chatbot convinced a 36-year old man to take his own life.

This case serves as a reminder that Big Tech companies are recklessly prioritizing profits over human lives.

How many more lives must be lost before this tech is properly regulated?

Following our revelation of the secretive alliance working to scrap or massively dilute CSDDD, the Dutch Parliament held two of its member companies to account today in a public hearing.

Our researcher @david330.bsky.social was invited to speak about this highly problematic political campaign.

The war on Iran likely brings a new oil price shock and windfall profits.

So, who stands to win?

Our research shows: Last time around (2022), the US reaped the largest fossil fuel profits of any country ($377bn). 50% went to the top 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵

Made in Europe label must benefit workers and communities A "Made in Europe" label could shape access to billions in public funding and public contracts through EU public procurement.

EU sources indicate Industrial Accelerator Act is expected this week. No mention of addressing
- tax avoidance, overpaid CEOs
- environmental harm or
- exploitation of workers

Disappointed public funds (tax payers money) to be doled out to companies avoiding obligations to all
@epsu.bsky.social

“This is Uber for military”. We interview author and activist @naomiaklein.bsky.social on our latest episode of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000. Check out Episode 72: How the War Department Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI.

(with @emilymbender.bsky.social)

The Enshittificator Digital products and services keep getting worse. In the new report Breaking Free: Pathways to a fair technological future, the Norwegian Consumer Council has delved…

Have you noticed that digital products and services are getting worse? So have we!

Today we are publishing our new report, Breaking Free: Pathways to a fair technological future. vimeo.com/1168468796?f...

Recoding the system: how to counter the Big Tech Lobby Playbook - SOMO Taking power back from Big Tech corporate giants means disrupting their global lobby playbook, which is vital to begin resetting the system.

Big Tech’s lobby playbook has allowed it to shape laws in its favour.

Taking power back won't be easy; the antidote must be dynamic and creative.

In our recent series, we suggest 8 counter-strategies to disrupt its playbook:
www.somo.nl/recoding-the...

🇪🇺 It could soon become easier for companies to train their #AI on your data – at least if the #EU Commission's #DigitalOmnibus proposal passes. 🤖

👤 featuring data protection lawyer and AI specialist Kleanthi Sardeli​

#law #lawyer #GDPR #privacy #dataprotection #EC

Watchdog organisations issue call to withdraw Aura Salla’s appointment as Digital Omnibus rapporteur | Corporate Europe Observatory Aura Salla, a former Meta lobbyist who is now an MEP, was appointed rapporteur of the Digital Omnibus. In an open letter, seven watchdog organisations are calling on the ITRE coordinators to withdraw ...

📣 Together with other watchdog organisations we have today issued a call to withdraw Aura Salla’s appointment as Digital Omnibus rapporteur.

Appointing a former Meta lobbyist to oversee the revision of digital regulations raises serious concerns regarding the undue influence of Big Tech.

🧵

A former Big Tech lobbyist as rapporteur for the Digital Omnibus, a legislative package on digital rules. Does that sound right to you?

Irish Data Protection Commission was asked today in Committee: have you ever taken a GDPR decision on Google?

Answer... No.

Ireland is responsible for supervising Google's data use across the whole EU. It has produced no decisions.

Kudos @sineadgibney.bsky.social for asking the question.