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Andreas Vou

About Andreas Vou

So far Andreas Vou has created 45 news.

Publishers’ reliance on Google and Facebook is a problem for media independence

By |2023-07-26T11:11:05+01:00June 17th, 2021|Tags: , |

Big tech companies bring in plenty of traffic for media outlets but take a disproportionate chunk of the earnings. And even when agreements are signed, it’s Big Tech that sets the rules

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Google and Facebook dominate behavioural advertising, even with the cookie crumbling

By |2023-07-26T10:11:02+01:00February 10th, 2021|Tags: , , , |

Action is being taken to increase transparency on the processing of users’ personal data on the internet, but the main digital advertisers still rely on intrusive practices that try to influence people’s behaviours. European regulation on data protection could mitigate the issue, but its enforcement is limited

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Biometric IDs and health passports: Safety at the expense of personal freedom

By |2023-07-26T09:00:23+01:00February 8th, 2021|Tags: , , |

Digital IDs and health passports are being talked up as the only way to return to normal amid COVID-19 but open the door to an unprecedented central surveillance system and an end to personal autonomy through coercion. And while they are being pitched as optional, those who opt out face exclusion from the most fundamental freedoms.

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How “big tech” influence electoral processes and why transparency is essential

By |2023-07-26T10:22:15+01:00December 21st, 2020|Tags: , , , |

Over the years, Big Tech companies have morphed from mere platforms to major international players with vested financial and political motives and connections. Their roles in influencing elections in Europe must be seriously addressed.

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Big Tech’s aggressive EU lobbying has caused a power shift

By |2023-07-26T08:59:45+01:00October 20th, 2020|Tags: , , , , |

The drastic increase of lobbying expenditure by Big Tech companies is denting Europe’s traditionally strict privacy laws and shifting more power into the hands of corporations. And the COVID-19 is playing in the latter's hand. 

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COVID-19 has served as the pretext for widespread surveillance

By |2023-07-26T09:15:36+01:00July 29th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

Mass data collection, geo-location tracking and facial recognition have become normalised in the climate of widespread fear of contagion. Yet these threats to privacy, liberty and democracy will only deepen with the imposition of contact tracing apps.

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The risks posed by 5-G driven smart cities

By |2023-07-26T11:41:56+01:00October 13th, 2019|Tags: , , , |

The 5G networks that are being deployed all around Europe can provide inhabitants of cities with sustainable living, reduced traffic and stringent security, but the technology can also determine a slippery slope towards mass surveillance.

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