Ursula Pachl

Meta is once again trying to circumvent the GDPR and abuse your personal data - this time for AI. Our legal action against such breaches of the law is only possible thanks to our 5,195 supporting members. Find out how you can support our work here: noyb.eu/en/support-us

Sam Altman’s @worldnetwork is opening shops in the streets of Berlin: You need to download the app, enter the shop, have your iris scanned, get id and crypto tokens. Is this legal in Germany, the country of data protection and the right to informational self-determination? @EU_EDPB

Want to learn more about Pay or Okay? Check out our @CPDPconferences panel this Friday! @maxschrems will discuss the topic with @tobiasjudin @Datatilsynet, Sandra Andraszewicz @ETH, @etiennedrouard from @HoganLovells, and moderated by @BrusselsGeek #CPDP2024

Good to see @vestager push back against the prevailing narrative that telecoms companies should be allowed to merge and create EU champions. More mergers would be bad for competition and bad for consumers. Consumers want competition preserved in #telecoms!

Yes! And deregulation and telco market consolidation would work against consumers ! Thanks for clear words 👏👏👏@vestager

Via @POLITICOEurope / @clothildegouj: #GDPR #BREAKING: @EU_EDPB takes the view that "large online platforms" like @Meta cannot rely on a "pay or okay" system to get "freely given" consent. [Details to follow] First @NOYBeu statement: noyb.eu/en/statement-e…

In a study conducted by @amnesty of fresh @tiktok_us accounts pretending to be 13yo children, the platform was found to be pushing potentially harmful content (such as self-harm or suicide) to them. Children are vulnerable consumers & need more protection. beuc.eu/blog/children-…

Tonight @PachlUpa is at @RenewEurope's Digital Day to welcome improvements the EU Parliament made to major laws like #DMA #DSA or #CRA. Now the Parliament needs to: 1⃣ ensure enforcement of these laws 2⃣ protect competition in telecoms 3⃣ push for ban on intra-EU call surcharges.

2 Jahren und 7 Monaten vor der #Datenschutzbehörde (gesetzliche Frist ist 6 Monate): Der @ORF gibt nun "freiwillig" nach und wird einen "Ablehnen"-Button auf ORF.at einführen.. 🥳 Manchmal schon absurd dicke (und teure) Bretter die wir (@noybeu) bohren.. 🙄

Hopped on a night train last week as I was wrapping up our policy recommendations on rail for the next EU Commission. Give it a read!

The @Europarl_EN must reject rushed proposals amending the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Roll-back of environmental measures without a proper impact assessment raises serious concerns and is at odds with societal demands. Our letter to MEPs: beuc.eu/sites/default/…

Truth 1: Meta’s services have never been ‘free’. With Meta unwavering efforts to justify how its pay-or-consent model serves consumers’ best interests, Frithjof Michaelsen from our 🇫🇷 member @UFCquechoisir, looks at 5 of Meta’s myths on the subject. beuc.eu/blog/five-meta…

The 🇮🇹 @antitrust_it has fined TikTok for inadequately protecting young people on its platform❗️❗️ This problem is something we had warned authorities about with our #TikTokWithoutFilters action in 2021. ➡️beuc.eu/enforcement/ti… twitter.com/antitrust_it/s…

A must-read op-ed by @janbertoft 👇 “Politicians usually recoil in horror: "We shouldn't get involved in what people have on their plates". They "forget" that they are already doing it, with various subsidies and targeted support" 💯 #FoodEnvironments

Want to know more about Meta's parctices around pay-or-consent? Or simply how we think it breaches EU law? This 🎙️ from our colleague Frithjof Michaelsen has you covered #ChooseToLoseWithMeta #MetaSmokescreen ourcuriousamalgam.com/episode/265-ta…

😡A price drop doesn’t cut it. Meta is not tackling the elephant in the room, which is the need to comply with EU data protection and consumer law. Our complaints: 1) based on consumer law beuc.eu/choose-to-Lose… 2) based on data protection rules beuc.eu/enforcement/me…

The position of the consumer in digital markets is weakening. A new report we publish today identifies how this is happening & what regulatory solutions are now needed. In a nutshell: we need fairness by default and by design.💪 ➡️beuc.eu/reports/digita…

🔎 Despite a 30-year-old Single Market, enforcement remains a key EU weakness. Ensuring that the recent regulatory push will successfully reshape our societies will be vital for the EU’s future. 🗣️ This is why our fifth idea for the #CEPSlab2024, presented by @PachlUpa, proposes to create a dedicated Commissioner tasked to ensure coherent, consistent, and effective implementation and enforcement of EU laws by the Commission itself and by Member States. LEARN MORE 👉 ceps.eu/why-the-eu-sho…

For months, Meta has asked Facebook & Instagram users to pay or consent to seeing ads. But this obscures the real problem: massive, illegal data processing either way. We are filing complaints against what lies behind this #MetaSmokescreen. ➡️#the-action" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">beuc.eu/enforcement/me…

Here in @business "Meta’s unfair ‘pay-or-consent’ choice is the company’s latest effort to legalize its business model, Ursula Pachl, deputy director general of EU-wide consumer group BEUC said👇 twitter.com/technology/sta…