Twitter Leads Call for EU Lawmakers To 'Think Beyond Big Tech'

In a formalization of an earlier Twitter-led push to try to exert influence over fast-forming European digital regulations, the social media firm has used its Twitter Spaces platform to host the official kick off of a policy advocacy lobby group that's being branded the Open Internet Alliance (OIA). From a report: Alongside Twitter, video streaming platform Vimeo; Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce and Tumblr; the Czech and Slovak focused search engine company, Seznam; and Jodel, a Berlin-based (profile-less) social network, are named as founding members. Twitter said the establishment of this formal lobbying alliance has been some two years in the making. Notably Mozilla -- which had joined Twitter, Auttomatic and Vimeo in a earlier call for incoming EU digital regulations to support better user controls to tackle bad speech rather than hone in on content censorship -- is not being named as a founding member so appears to be sitting this one out. At the time of writing it's unclear why Mozilla is missing. But the Alliance is putting out a wider call for other "middle-layer" Internet companies to join the initiative -- so the grouping may grow in size.

Albeit -- very clearly -- big tech need not apply.

Speaking during a Twitter Spaces event today to discuss the formation of the alliance, Sinead McSweeney, Twitter's global policy VP, said the group is making a plea to lawmakers to think about the wider web ecosystem -- rather than see the Internet as "a monolith" comprised of just a handful of tech giants. "Our plea in aid of the open Internet is that [lawmakers] not view the Internet as a monolith, nor indeed view it as fixing the Internet solving all of societies problems," she said, urging policymakers to: "Take a wider focus when they're looking at solutions -- not look at the Internet just through the lens of a handful of companies. And really think about the entire ecosystem -- and get away from this sense 'oh big tech is the problem.' Because -- in actual fact, in their efforts to tackle so called 'big tech -- that is all we may end up with."

Re:

[ocean_soul]

Yes, but calling it "wrongthink" is bad speech, as that expression has negative connotations. You have to use the term "bad speech" instead. This is all especially ironic coming from twitter, seeing as bad speech is their bread and butter.

Re:

[Barsteward]

I noticed they used the term bad speech. Is that like wrongthink?Rightists have turned modern society into 1984. Why are rightists so afraid of free speech? - fixed that for you.

Answered your own question.

[waspleg]

Notably Mozilla -- which had joined Twitter, Auttomatic and Vimeo in a earlier call for incoming EU digital regulations to support better user controls to tackle bad speech rather than hone in on content censorship -- is not being named as a founding member so appears to be sitting this one out.

Albeit -- very clearly -- big tech need not apply.

Mozilla gets almost all their money from Google.

Internet is being destroyed

[jwymanm]

We can't have nice things. Governments, big data, everyone is working to censor people on the Internet to the point there will be no Internet left accept anonymous folks still using p2p. That will eventually be firewalled also. God knows what VPN providers are doing with their customer's data behind the scenes. Free speech is being eliminated everywhere and social media participants (aka products) are cheering it on while it happens. Supporting the companies doing it because it's their right.. yeah it's the

Re:

[IWantMoreSpamPlease]

Is it perhaps time to go back to local BBS-style sites?
I've dipped my toes into running a local BBS (though not through dial-up) and I've noticed everyone is a lot nicer...plus, no ads, tracking, etc.

Re:

[jwymanm]

Yeah, I think the quality is better in more private group scenarios but the issue is discoverability and accessibility. I know these groups don't want more people though. I've always done IRC and now Discord. The issue is that the public is shaped by.. the public. And the public control our policies. Majority rule sucks.

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

The kind of regulation that Twitter is opposing works very well in other areas. For example, small companies are often exempt from regulations that larger ones must follow. So naturally politicians want to apply the same principal to regulating internet companies, and Twitter very much doesn't want that because it's one of the big guys.

It reminds me of that episode of Veep where the tech company boss says "we see ourselves as post-tax".

The proposals from the EU are quite well thought out. For example, havin

I think that's a great idea

[rsilvergun]

we can enforce anti trust law in all sorts of places good for consumers. Start by breaking up these huge apartment monopolies where 1 company owns every block in a 50 mile radius. Also enforce zoning laws so AirBnB goes out of business and companies can't buy all the houses and rent them out. Make housing affordable like it was when my parents and grandparents were growing up.

And that's just a start. There's so much more we could do with anti-trust laws that would benefit everyone making under $500,000k

Re:

[phantomfive]

Start by breaking up these huge apartment monopolies where 1 company owns every block in a 50 mile radius.

Some people claim that these "economies of scale" benefit consumers by bringing down prices. But I can assure you, these apartment monopolies do not.

Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

[Chas]

When you get big companies with the reach of Twitter start going on moral crusades, nothing good EVER comes of it.
Your privacy, your rights, EVERYTHING eventually is disposable in the face of their ideology.

AVOID BUSINESSES WHO TALK LIKE THIS.

Run away.

Re:

[splutty]

As an example, they're flogging the Lenovo 5i chromebook as "$699 on sale from $999" while every other retailer in the space has it at $697-$699 as well.

Funny thing, this article is about the EU. In most countries in the EU, this is very very illegal, and will get the company in question some significant fines if they're found to be doing this.

I seem to recall Australia has similar consumer laws.

what sorry

[Anonymous Coward]

somehow Twitter is not "big tech" now?

Re:

[jd]

For the purposes of defining itself as the victim, as opposed to the corporate bully it actually is, it has defined itself as a small tech company. Those who are, in truth, the victims of online abuse somehow magically get defined as either asking for it or as inevitable victims because Society.

I've no problems with the full ecosystem being looked into, but at least in the US, the Internet hasn't been Common Carrier under the law as defined by Congress for a long time. That makes the messenger 100% responsi

The speech reflects their values

[rantrantrant]

The 'little guys' are just 'big tech' that haven't made it big. Once they find the winning ad revenue generating formula, they can get big. The problem as I see it is to regulate that formula effectively. At the moment, the formula appears to generate hate speech & misinformation disproportionately. Much of that hate speech & misinformation is generated for profit & political manipulation & the big social media platforms augment & exploit it... for profit. So, how can we detach hate spee

Big Tech now big tech

[ElitistWhiner]

Begging gov’t to act, regulate and act the Big Brother is Internet speeding in reverse from whence it came.

Can someone just innovate over gov’t and they’ll catchup when they figure out how to tax it?