Nico Schmidt

@nicoschmidt.io

Reporter for Investigate Europe Working currently on AI Accountability as Pulitzer Center Fellow 2024-2025 Tips? schmidt@investigate-europe.eu All views are my own

New investigation: In June 2030 the World Cup opens at Uruguay's Estadio Centenario. Fans passing the turnstiles will have their faces scanned against a watchlist - by software written in Barcelona, in a country where regulators have shut that practice down. (1/x)

The football stadium Centenario in Montevideo as seen from space

New Investigation: The EU has banned real-time facial recognition on its own streets. But it never banned exporting it. In India, software from one Spanish company is now estimated to power more than 4,000 surveillance cameras. (1/x)

At an Indian railway station, people are walking from left to right; some of their heads are surrounded by blue triangles.

Following our recent @investigate-europe.eu story, 35 MEPs from across Europe demand the EU Commission in a letter to scrap the "unlawful" secrecy clause. Last month, we revealed how Microsoft and other Big Tech companies wrote a law article hiding their data centre's environmental footprint.

Screenshot of a letter sent by MEPs to the European Commission with some parts of text highlighted

"We reject the accusation of ad verbatim copy-pasting of industry lobbying," the EU Commission told AFP in response to our latest Investigate Europe investigation exposing how big tech wrote a law that hides their data centre's environmental footprint. Well, judge for yourself.

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.

Image showing cut out of documents with certain phrases highlighted.

Big Tech once pledged not to power mass surveillance. That era is over. New @theguardian.com investigation shows: Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure has supported Israeli military surveillance of Palestinians. These quiet dependencies make modern surveillance possible. Cloud providers aren’t neutral.

‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians

Revealed: The Israeli military undertook an ambitious project to store a giant trove of Palestinians’ phone calls on Microsoft’s servers in Europe

theguardian.com

Hulk Hogan not only made wrestling popular but also helped reshape American media law. His lawsuit against Gawker (financed partly by Peter Thiel), which bankrupted the media outlet, proved to be a blueprint for Trump's aggressive actions against papers and TV stations.

Screenshot of NYTimes article with headline: "Hulk Hogan awarded 115 Million US-Dollar in Privacy Suite Against Gawker"

Today we can reveal: Rheinmetall, one of Germany's largest defence companies, portrays itself as a defender of the free world. But away from public view, the company is delivering operational ammunition factories – apparently to Russia's partners as well.

Collage of different elements, among them, missiles and the head of Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger

Today we can reveal: Rheinmetall, one of Germany's largest defence companies, portrays itself as a defender of the free world. But away from public view, the company is delivering operational ammunition factories – apparently to Russia's partners as well.

Collage of different elements, among them, missiles and the head of Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger

This is alarming: Law enforcement conducted a search and seizure at the home of the parents of Alesya Marokhovskaya - the editor-in-chief of @occrp.bsky.social member center Istories. A criminal case was opened against her under the “foreign agency” article. istories.media/en/news/2024...

Law Enforcement Conducted a Search and Seizure at the Home of IStories Editor-in-Chief Alesya Marokhovskaya’s Parents

A criminal case was opened against her under the “foreign agency” article

istories.media

Excited to dive into AI accountability reporting as a fellow at the Pulitzer Center! AI systems impact everything from job interviews to loan approvals, but can unfairly affect certain groups. I'll cover these issues at Investigate Europe. Any thoughts? Let's connect! ✉️ schmidt@investigate-europe.eu

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Ein neues Gesetz droht der Pharmaindustrie in DE künftig zu erlauben, Preise für neue Arzneimittel geheim zu halten. In der Folge könnten andere EU-Staaten deutlich mehr für Medikamente zahlen müssen oder keinen Zugang bekommen. Unsere neuen Recherche #DeadlyPrices www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...

Medikamente ohne Zusatznutzen: Werden Arzneimittelpreise zum Geheimnis?

Für Medikamente ohne Zusatznutzen zahlen deutsche Krankenkassen oft nur einen Bruchteil des Listenpreises. Die Abschläge wollen Konzerne gegenüber anderen Ländern gerne verheimlichen. Der Gesundheitsm...

tagesschau.de

Künftig wird Alessia Cerantola unsere Investigate-Europe-Recherchen koordinieren und leiten. Sie hat zuvor unter anderem als leitende Redakteurin für OCCRP gearbeitet. Das wird spannend. Willkommen, Alessia!

Das Foto zeigt den Ausschnitt einer E-Mail, in der Investigate Europes Geschäftsführer Peter Matjasic ankündigt, dass Alessia Cerantola neue Geschäftsführende Journalistin von Investigate Europe wird.

Unternehmen wie Airbus finanzieren offenbar indirekt die russische Kriegsmaschine mit. Das ist das Ergebnis unserer neuen Investigate-Europe-Recherche. Denn noch immer beschaffen sich Konzerne in Russland kritische Rohstoffe wie Titan - und das völlig unsanktioniert. (1/x)

Milliarden für den Aggressor

Trotz des Ukrainekrieges und der Sanktionen gegen Russland verkaufen russische Bergbaukonzerne weiterhin unbeschränkt kritische Rohstoffe an die EU-Industrie, und das ist auch so gewollt – eine Ana...

investigate-europe.eu

Die Gaspipeline Balticconnector hat offenbar ein Leck. Dabei handelt es sich "offenbar nicht um einen Unfall". Finnlands Regierung hat eine Pressekonferenz angekündigt, die im Zusammenhang stehe mit "besorgniserregenden Veränderungen der Sicherheitslage in Finnland" yle.fi/a/74-20054419

Yle source: Gas pipeline leak "does not appear to be an accident"

According to Gasgrid Finland, the only possible reason for the unusual pressure drop in the Balticconnector pipeline is a hole in the pipe, which has only been in use for a few years.

yle.fi

Microsoft will Dank AI die wertvollste Firma der Welt werden. Vorstand Nadella frohlockte zuletzt: „The Nineties are back.“ Das schnelle Wachstum hat seinen Preis, zeigt diese SRF-Recherche. Befragt zu den Schweizer Wahlen, liefert Microsofts AI Falschinfos und erfundene Skandale. t.co/kYEDvADIHS

Wahlen 2023 - KI gibt Falschinformationen zu Schweizer Wahlen

Veraltete Wahllisten, erfundene Skandale: Eine neue Untersuchung zeigt, wie KI-Sprachmodelle die Demokratie gefährden.

t.co