Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

Fair use is not a loophole in copyright. It is a core principle that helps creativity, education, and culture thrive. ⚖️📖

In RECLAIMING FAIR USE, copyright scholars Patricia Aufderheide & Peter Jaszi explain how understanding copyright's balance make it easier for creators, educators, librarians, and researchers to confidently use their rights. ✍️🏛️

In conversation with Dave Hansen on the Future Knowledge #podcast.

🎧 Listen & subscribe:
https://futureknowledge.transistor.fm/episodes/reclaiming-fair-use

@AuthorsAlliance @paufder

Do you know how to spot covert automated license plate readers (ALPRs)? Here's what to look out for if you're on the U.S.-Mexico border.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/how-identify-automated-license-plate-readers-us-mexico-border

We urge the @EUCommission to scrutinise Apple's announcement closely and reject it as non-compliant with the #DMA.

These concerns were already raised in a complaint to the European Commission filed by @Freiheitsrechte and @article19, which the FSFE contributed to.

https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025.10.22_Complaint-against-Apple-Digital-Markets-Act.pdf

A new fee waiver could help some not-for-profit projects, and we welcome that. But it changes nothing about notarization, developer accounts, or entry thresholds. For #FreeSoftware, this is not the substantial shift the #DMA should deliver, and we have been highlighting this in our latest report.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20523420

On top of that, every developer still needs an Apple Developer Account just to distribute software at all, no matter the channel.

Entry barriers for developers stay high: despite a waiver for not for profit projects, to open an alternative marketplace you need financial guarantees worth up to €1 million, or must already reach 1 million first annual installs. Small projects rarely meet either bar.

The biggest issue: #notarization. Every app must pass Apple's automatic and human review before it can run on iOS, even when distributed outside the App Store, via an alternative marketplace or a website.

No channel escapes Apple's gatekeeping.

Once notarized, Apple encrypts the binary. Nobody can run, inspect, or share that software freely. This makes it impossible to distribute #FreeSoftware apps, as the freedoms cannot be guaranteed.

#Apple has announced new terms for alternative app distribution in the EU (18 August 2026). The reduction of fees is welcome, but the core problems for smaller developers and #FreeSoftware remain there.

🧵A thread on why we're still concerned about #DMA compliance.🧵

The #DigitalCommons #EDIC is forming an advisory board and is looking for experts to join it.

Nominations are due Sept 7th!

https://digital-commons-edic.eu/news/2026-07-01-advisory-board-call-for-experts/

#EU #DigitalSovereinty #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #FOSS

@fedops @ParadeGrotesque I hadn't heard about the French gov mandating Linux workstations for all their Ministries, that's great news!

The Dutch, French and German workspace teams were already working together on a Linux OS within the EDIC's 100 day challenges, but I don't think a choice for a distro has been made yet. 🇪🇺

I'm super impressed with how proactive the French are. Good work @numerique_gouv 👏

#EDIC #EUpolicy #DigitalSovereignty #Opensource #linux

‼️⚖️ The #US Supreme Court has declared all independent authorities unconsitutional – effectively blowing up the EU-US deal on data transfers.

👉Click the link below for noyb's full assessment of the situation, and prepare for a #Schrems III case!
🔗 https://noyb.eu/en/us-supreme-court-just-blew-eu-us-data-transfers

Your mobile data shouldn't crawl just because you crossed the border.

Under our ‘roam like at home', operators in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway cannot ‘throttle’ your speed abroad.

If 5G is available in the country you are visiting, you must have access to it at the same quality as at home.

Since January 2026, Ukraine and Moldova have also joined the EU’s ‘roam like at home area.’

Because your connection should be as smooth as your travel plans. 😎

JBS, see you in court!

Greenpeace Netherlands is taking the world’s biggest meat company to court to force them to hand over information about their secretive business policies and hold their billionaire owners accountable.

Let’s fight back against unchecked corporate power.

Not on our watch.

Sign the People vs Big Ag petition https://act.gp/4wgFMVP

Want to know more? Read our latest explainer on why ePrivacy matters, why cookie banners are only part of the story, and how we can move beyond today’s broken system ➡️ https://edri.org/our-work/cookies-and-consent-why-eprivacy-matters-for-our-browsing-life/

In a major victory for digital rights and common sense, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has officially categorized Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as "lawful technical tools" while establishing new boundaries for online copyright disputes.

The landmark judgment — handed down in July 2026 — stems from a complex legal battle over the online publication of Anne Frank's historical manuscripts. At its core, the case forced Europe's top judges to answer a highly technical question: if a publisher actively tries to block visitors from a specific country, are they still breaking the law if a user sneaks past the digital border using circumvention software?

According to the CJEU, the answer is no. As long as a website employs "state-of-the-art" geo-blocking technology, the publisher cannot be held liable for copyright infringement simply because a determined reader decides to fire up the best VPN to bypass the restrictions.

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/vpns-are-lawful-technical-tools-says-eu-court-in-landmark-anne-frank-copyright-ruling

When I started building with React Native and Expo, it became much harder to write the recipe to be available on #FDroid.

#CastLab was my first one, with the help of maintainers. The last build of #HolosSocial failed (it happens with Expo upgrades). An F-Droid maintainer warned me first on my repo. Before I could act, they made the changes to the recipe so new builds were possible, and silently closed the issue.

Just a thank you to the #FDroid team, they help users and devs alike!

Today, July 18 (3:00–5:00 p.m.), we continue our four-part series on the topic:

“Digital Neocolonialism: Data, Resources, Dependencies—Who Benefits?”

This time: Content Moderation at Scale—How Labor Extractivism Powers Platform Models. With SANA AHMAD (https://social.bund.de/@Weizenbaum_Institut)

Event in English more information: https://www.topio.info/digitaler_neokolonialismus.html#3

#ContentModeration #DigitalNeocolonialism #berlin #moabit #mitte