The EU says it needs to triple data center capacity but has not shown why, how existing infrastructure is being used, or whether rapid expansion is in the public interest. Michelle Thorne, Aurora Gomez Delgado, Fieke Jansen and Rosi Leonard argue for a moratorium.

The Case for a Temporary Moratorium on Large Data Centers in Europe

Michelle Thorne, Aurora Gomez Delgado, Fieke Jansen and Rosi Leonard argue the EU should pause new data centers until it proves they are in the public interest.

techpolicy.press

The European Commission fined Google €460 million for self-preferencing in Search and €430 million for Play Store steering restrictions. For Tech Policy Press, Megan Kirkwood breaks down the findings and what comes next.

The High Stakes Behind the EU’s €890M Google DMA Fine

Megan Kirkwood breaks down Google’s €890M Digital Markets Act fine, self-preferencing findings, Play Store rules and the next phase of enforcement.

techpolicy.press

Europe’s next fight over children’s online safety may not just be about bans. The EU's expert panel argues platforms should have to prove they are safe before children use them. Here's what the panel says — and where the consensus breaks down: www.techpolicy.press/europe-wants...

Europe Wants Platforms to Prove They Are Safe for Children

The EU's Special Panel on Child Safety Online calls for an age floor, safer design and proof of child safety by platforms, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

techpolicy.press

On the Tech Policy Press podcast, deputy editor Ramsha Jahangir hosts Europe 2031 co-author Maximilian Negele and AI Now Institute advisor Frederike Kaltheuner to debate what Europe is getting wrong on AI—and what it would take to change course.

Is Europe Getting AI Wrong?

Tech Policy Press deputy editor Ramsha Jahangir is joined by Europe 2031 co-author Maximilian Negele and AI Now Institute advisor Frederike Kaltheuner.

techpolicy.press

I've spent the last four days running around an airless expo hall in Geneva trying to figure out what the UN thinks it can do to tame AI. Here's what I've learned for @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/can-the-unit...

Can the United Nations Bring the World Together on AI?

The AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva announced a slew of different proposals designed to ensure artificial intelligence is channeled in a ‘good’ direction.

techpolicy.press

Europe has two options for protecting children online: scan their messages or ban them from platforms. Tanya Becheva argues there is a third way, and Europe has been too busy fighting over the first two to build it.

Europe Can Protect Children Online Without Surveillance or Age Bans

Europe has never defined, in any testable way, what a "safe" platform for children actually looks like, writes Tanya Becheva.

techpolicy.press

As Europe implements policy intended to boost its digital sovereignty, what shape is that sovereignty taking? My latest article looking at the European Commission migrating to W Social, and taking a wider view of what it means going forward

Tech Policy Press@techpolicypress.bsky.social · last mo.

The European Commission has joined W Social, a closed-source European platform, weeks after publishing its Open Source Strategy. Megan Kirkwood asks whether the move contradicts the Commission's own goals.

In partnership with the AI Now Institute, a new series examines the dependencies embedded in Europe's application-layer AI market — and why they make sovereignty harder to achieve than policymakers assume.

Europe’s AI Sovereignty Problem Runs Far Deeper Than Frontier Access

The series, in partnership with the AI Now Institute, highlights how Europe’s AI market is deeply entangled with the ecosystems of dominant US players.

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Here is a very informative conversion between @ramshajahangir.bsky.social, @nicoschmidt.io and Christiaan van Veen about the @ec.europa.eu laws about data centres and the limited public insight into energy use, emissions and capacity utilisation. #Stopdatacentre #dkpol

Why the EU's Data Center Boom Is a Black Box

Senior editor Ramsha Jahangir speaks with Investigate Europe journalist Nico Schmidt and Leitmotiv cofounder Christiaan van Veen.

techpolicy.press

Brussels sets out an ambitious cross-sector plan to reduce Europe’s dependence on foreign technology, spanning cloud services, semiconductors and AI, while pairing new regulatory tools with investment and industrial policy to expand domestic capacity, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

EU Unveils Sweeping Tech Sovereignty Push, Balancing Autonomy with Openness

The “tech sovereignty” package marks the bloc’s most ambitious attempt yet to reduce dependence on non-European providers, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

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Tech Policy Press is hiring a Managing Editor to run its day-to-day editorial operations across web, newsletter, and podcast formats. Learn more and apply: buff.ly/OM8oPUg

If you're interested to know why this week's EU data centre sustainability announcement is so important definitely need to read this whole thing

Tech Policy Press@techpolicypress.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The EU wants to triple data center capacity in five years. But how much energy and water do these facilities actually use? Nobody can say. Tech Policy Press senior editor Ramsha Jahangir digs into the secrecy with Investigate Europe's Nico Schmidt and Leitmotiv's Christiaan van Veen.

New episode: Tech Policy Press senior editor Ramsha Jahangir and editor Justin Hendrix report back from CPDP in Brussels, Europe's big privacy and data protection conference. The theme: "Competing Visions, Shared Futures." From the Digital Omnibus to tech sovereignty, there was much to discuss.

Taking the Temperature of Tech Policy Debates in Brussels at CPDP

Ramsha Jahangir and Justin Hendrix report from the 19th installment of CPDP, a major privacy and tech policy conference held each year in Brussels.

techpolicy.press

New episode! The EU wants to triple data center capacity in five years. But how much energy and water do these facilities actually use? Nobody can say. Tech Policy Press senior editor Ramsha Jahangir digs into the secrecy with Investigate Europe's Nico Schmidt and Leitmotiv's Christiaan van Veen.

Why the EU's Data Center Boom Is a Black Box

Senior editor Ramsha Jahangir speaks with Investigate Europe journalist Nico Schmidt and Leitmotiv cofounder Christiaan van Veen.

techpolicy.press

The EU has fined Chinese e-commerce giant Temu €200 million for failing to prevent the sale of dangerous and illegal products — the largest penalty yet under the Digital Services Act, and the first aimed at physical consumer harm, reports Ramsha Jahangir. buff.ly/xwTmkC8

EU Tests Limits of Platform ‘Risk Assessments’ with €200 Million Temu Fine

The European Commission has fined China's Temu €200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act over sale of illegal products, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

techpolicy.press

Updated our piece to include reference to a local Zambian news report, citing unnamed sources, that the Zambian government's actions were influenced by China, and a statement from Article 19 that points to "claims, many of them well-founded" that foreign pressure contributed to Zambia's decision.

RightsCon 2026 being cancelled at the last minute is more than a disruption — it’s a warning. Spaces for digital rights are shrinking. We need to rally, adapt, and defend them now. www.komaitis.org/write-share-... #RightsCon #InternetFreedom #DigitalRights #RightsCon2026 #China #humanrights

RightsCon 2026 in Zambia is cancelled — now what?

The  cancellation  of RightsCon 2026 in Lusaka, just days before it was set to begin on May 4th, is more than a logistical disruption. It is a jolt to one of the last truly global spaces where...

komaitis.org

Brussels says Meta's risk assessment of under-13 access is "incomplete and arbitrary." The preliminary findings landed alongside a same-day push to accelerate the EU age verification app rollout, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

EU Intensifies Child Safety Enforcement, Flags Gaps in Meta Age Checks

The European Commission says Meta may be in breach of the Digital Services Act over how Facebook and Instagram handle access by users under 13.

techpolicy.press

Misunderstanding of our AI reality as a binary AI vs. Real is furthering eroding the truth in the information space, best exemplified by this week's Trump vs. Islamic Republic disinformation tit for tat over real Iranian women protesters. @witnessorg.bsky.social @techpolicypress.bsky.social

Tech Policy Press@techpolicypress.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Authentic Iranian political prisoners are being packaged into AI-enhanced collages and unverified execution claims and fed into a propaganda noise machine. The Iranian state is the only beneficiary, writes Mahsa Alimardani.

Big Tech wrote the EU law that hides their data centres' environmental impact. The EU wants to triple its data centre capacity in the next five years. While the full scale of their energy and water footprint is hidden from the public. Our new @investigate-europe.eu investigation reveals why.

Microsoft and other US tech companies successfully lobbied the EU to hide the environmental toll of their data centers, Investigate Europe reports in collaboration with Tech Policy Press and other media partners.

How Big Tech Lobbied the EU to Hide Data Centers' Environmental Toll

The European Commission has adopted industry-drafted language shielding data center emissions data from public view, report Nico Schmidt and Ella Joyner.

techpolicy.press

Journalists know that losing the Wayback Machine would be a nightmare: www.wired.com/story/the-in...

The Internet's Most Powerful Archiving Tool Is in Peril

As major news outlets cut off the Wayback Machine, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the Internet Archive’s vast collection of web pages.

wired.com

Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age law has been in effect for three months. The eSafety Commissioner’s first report shows a rough rollout — platforms are missing key obligations and early harm indicators haven’t moved. @markscott.bsky.social and I report: www.techpolicy.press/early-lesson...

Early Lessons from Australia's Teen Social Media Ban for the Rest of the World

A new eSafety compliance report offers a detailed account of regulatory ambition meeting corporate inertia and potential lessons for other regulators.

techpolicy.press

In @techpolicypress.bsky.social , @ramshajahangir.bsky.social also wrote a deep dive on the community notes expansion in repressive human rights regimes,conflict & election-sensitive countries could create tangible harms that #Meta must address: www.techpolicy.press/oversight-bo...

Oversight Board Flags Human Rights Risks in Meta's Global Community Notes Rollout

Meta’s Oversight Board warns global rollout of Community Notes risks harm in conflict zones, repressive regimes, and election-sensitive countries.

techpolicy.press

A Dutch court has ruled Grok must stop generating non-consensual undressing images of Dutch residents worldwide and child sexual abuse material in the Netherlands, with €100,000-a-day fines for non-compliance, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

Dutch Court Orders X, Grok to Stop AI-Generated Sexual Abuse Content

Dutch court bans Grok's nudify tool and hits xAI with €100,000-a-day fines in Europe's first binding injunction against an AI image generator.

techpolicy.press

The Oversight Board flagged that a global Community Notes expansion in repressive human rights regimes, and conflict and election-sensitive countries, could create significant human rights risks and tangible harms that Meta must address, reports Ramsha Jahangir.

Oversight Board Flags Human Rights Risks in Meta's Global Community Notes Rollout

Meta’s Oversight Board warns global rollout of Community Notes risks harm in conflict zones, repressive regimes, and election-sensitive countries.

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Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s first country with a comprehensive AI law. Modeled on the EU’s risk-based approach, it emphasizes human oversight, risk classification, and digital sovereignty as part of Hanoi’s 2045 development push, reports Lam Le.

Vietnam’s New AI Law Balances Innovation Push With Tight State Control

The Law on Artificial Intelligence draws on preceding legislation, notably the EU’s AI Act, which includes risk-based management of AI, reports Lam Le.

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The EU is pushing ahead with AI Act changes that weaken protections for high-risk systems and leave no meaningful path to redress, even as evidence of harm mounts, write CDT Europe’s Laura Lazaro Cabrera and Magdalena Maier.

Europe Is Looking To Water Down AI Protections. It Should Reinforce Them.

As the omnibus proposal moves toward trilogue negotiations, decision-makers must not lose sight of the AI Act’s goals and effectiveness.

techpolicy.press

On March 1, Iranian drone strikes hit three AWS facilities in the UAE and Bahrain. Iran cited the data centers' support of US military networks. It is inevitable that such facilities would be deemed targets, but the global business and legal fallout are still emerging, writes Mahmoud Abuwasel.

The Legal and Policy Fallout from Data Center Strikes in the Middle East War

When private sector technology is utilized by state or military actors, it inevitably becomes a target in geopolitical conflicts, writes Mahmoud Abuwasel.

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The EU is ramping up defense AI investment, while much of it sits outside the bloc’s flagship AI law, Raluca Besliu reports. As military and civilian systems increasingly overlap, a regulatory gap is emerging over how dual-use AI will be governed in Europe.

Europe’s AI Act Leaves a Gap for Military AI Entering Civilian Life

What legal and governance mechanisms, if any, will ensure that military AI development aligns with the safeguards applied to civilian systems under EU law?

techpolicy.press