Internet
Where do we stand on the road to a European Gigabit Society?
The road towards universally accessible ultra-fast connectivity in Europe still seems long and bumpy.
Google and Facebook dominate behavioural advertising, even with the cookie crumbling
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
How “big tech” influence electoral processes and why transparency is essential
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.
Big Tech’s aggressive EU lobbying has caused a power shift
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.
COVID-19 has served as the pretext for widespread surveillance
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.
Undress or fail: Instagram’s algorithm strong-arms users into showing skin
An exclusive investigation reveals that Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women, shaping the behavior of content creators and the worldview of 140 millions Europeans in what remains a blind spot of EU regulations.
The risks posed by 5-G driven smart cities
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.
EU smart cities join the data boom
Many European cities did not wait for central governments’ green light to take advantage of the opportunities provided by technology and big data to improve governance and their citizens’ lives. A closer look at Utrecht and Santander shows how smart cities can play a role model.
‘We want to help cities to become interoperable’
Martin Brynskov, chairman of the board of Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC), explains how data management fuels local governance solutions and citizen-centric services.