Recent weeks have brought fresh challenges to Europe's digital rights landscape, with advocacy groups documenting a range of threats to online freedoms. The EDRi network's latest roundup covers pressure on EU regulators, platform moderation failures, and the expanding influence of Big Tech in Brussels.
Stand up, Ursula
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces mounting pressure to weaken the EU's digital enforcement agenda. Since Donald Trump's return to office, his administration and major technology executives have stepped up efforts to influence the Commission's approach to digital regulation. The immediate flashpoint centres on whether Brussels will proceed with breaking up Google's illegal adtech monopoly or yield to intensifying demands from Trump and Big Tech leadership. The bloc's digital laws were designed to safeguard citizens' rights; they now risk being rewritten to serve corporate interests instead. Advocacy groups WeMove Europe and Avaaz have launched petitions urging the Commission to stand firm.
Digital Rights Under Threat — The Impact of LinkedIn's Biased Moderation Amid Genocide
A new report reveals systematic problems with LinkedIn's content moderation during the Gaza hostilities, showing that Palestinian voices faced disproportionate restrictions. Drawing on fifteen user testimonies and conversations with LinkedIn and Microsoft staff, the investigation documents internal bias, account suspensions, post deletions, and a chilling effect on speech. The findings point to widespread self-censorship among users on the platform.
How X Spreads Hate Against LGBTI People in Poland
A documentary investigation exposes how X has become a vector for coordinated hate campaigns targeting LGBTI communities in Poland. The platform's inadequate investment in Polish-language moderation, combined with its failure to uphold human rights commitments and comply with the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), has fostered a hostile digital environment. The video documents the platform's non-compliance with European obligations and the resulting harm to vulnerable groups.
There are now more Big Tech lobbyists than MEPs
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and Counter Balance have released research showing that Big Tech's lobbying presence in Brussels now exceeds the number of members in the European Parliament. In a podcast episode, CEO researcher Bram Vranken discusses the findings, emphasizing the unprecedented scale of corporate influence over EU legislation. The concentration of lobbying power among technology giants allows them to shape policy in ways that entrench their market dominance across critical sectors of society.
Source: EDRi (European Digital Rights)
