Wag the Assange
Monday, January 24, seemed to be unexceptional for many journalists and news readers. Updates on coronavirus continued, and mostly local problems were mentioned across the world. Few have written about London that day; at most in connection with Brexit. Yet one of the most important international hearings for journalists – and freedom of speech – began in Courtroom 2 of the Woolwich Crown Court. T
Sick Powers
A global disease exposes the weaknesses of the world’s dueling powers 102 years ago the last global pandemic killed about 50 million people. World War II, the deadliest military conflict in history, saw an estimated total of 85 million deaths, about 3% of the 1940 world population. Corona or Covid-19, with a similar death rate of about 2%, is predicted to ‘likely’ become a global pandemic in the
Fifth Generation Power Struggle
The battle around Huawei and 5G isn’t just about one huge technology company and it isn’t just about the infrastructure for the 4th industrial revolution. It is about geopolitics and the battle between the incumbent sole US superpower versus a rising China under the Chinese Communist one-Party dictatorship. Huawei is an extension of the Chinese state. China’s National Intelligence Law, which came
Brexit – Promising the World
The United Kingdom is going its own way and leaving the European Union. On the first sight, this is not surprising for the world’s formerly largest empire and formerly strongest super power. However, the times since the British global empire have changed dramatically and besides a worldwide web of financial centers, the United Kingdom will be barely able to assert its influence on other countries
Internet is for Porn – and Deepfakes for Manipulation
Facebook: “We will remove misleading manipulated media if it meets the following criteria: It has been edited or synthesized – beyond adjustments for clarity or quality – in ways that aren’t apparent to an average person and would likely mislead someone into thinking that a subject of the video said words that they did not actually say. And: It is the product of artificial intelligence or machin
Open Letter: Russian repression practices towards civil society
Subject: Call for de-listing organisations such as ‘People in Need’ from the list of ‘Undesirable Organisations’ and to stop Russian repression practices towards civil society
Bans on Political Ads: Freedom of Reach
Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, is shaking and shaping the online world quite often. However one of his recent attention-grabing steps is more important to our whole society then one might think at first. At the end of October he announced on his Twitter account he’s going to stop all political advertising on his site with a claim: ‘We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,’ and
Moscow Trip: Safety First
When talking about cyber and hybrid threats, disinformation campaigns or even the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of warfare – in short, my core passion as a politician and human being – one cannot really avoid mentioning the Kremlin’s involvement. Yet a lot of this talk is being done from the distant shelter of Brussels. Which is reasonable on the one hand, as one needs a base of
Parliament is aware of foreign interference – and won’t tolerate it.
On 27th March this year, a Lithuanian court in Vilnius issued its ruling in the so called ‘13th January case’, in which 67 Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian citizens, including former high-level officials of the Soviet Union, were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their involvement in the Soviet aggression on the 13th January 1991. When Lithuania declared independence on 1
Most important people in the EU? I’m disappointed.
Though I am a fairly young and newly elected member of the European Parliament, I didn’t arrive with naive ideas about the legislative work, negotiations and politics. I was prepared to compromise, re-think and prioritize – as long as it was in line with my values. Yet it has still been hard to watch one of the first political steps involving the Parliament: the Council wiping its.