EU Policymakers · ATLAS

Kim VAN SPARRENTAK

Member of the European Parliament · Netherlands · Greens/EFA

Policy topics Kim VAN SPARRENTAK is active on

Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal contentScope of EU cybersecurity obligationsEU restrictions on unfair commercial practices

What Kim VAN SPARRENTAK has said (60)

2026-07-15 “(18:04:13 - 18:04:29): Sorry. How do you see the risk for the abuse of the EU Inc for the circumvention of labor rights, money laundering, and criminal activity in high risk sectors? And what is the experience from the ground? And would the simplified regime be an accelerator for abusing, in your view? Because I think that's the last thing we want. Thank you.”
Anti-money laundering regulation
2026-07-15 “(18:04:13 - 18:04:29): Sorry. How do you see the risk for the abuse of the EU Inc for the circumvention of labor rights, money laundering, and criminal activity in high risk sectors? And what is the experience from the ground? And would the simplified regime be an accelerator for abusing, in your view? Because I think that's the last thing we want. Thank you.”
Anti-money laundering regulation
2026-07-14 “Thank you very much. Interesting to, to hear your perspective. I guess you can expect a lot of policy related questions that perhaps you won't be able to answer as the technical guy, but we're nonetheless going to ask them. And I think anthropic could have known that. So we heard about mythos that it's basically able to detect all cyber security vulnerabilities. And if that's true, then it could pose a major risk especially if it falls into the wrong hands. But even if half of what is claimed is true, it opens the door to major cyber attacks at scale. That can really you know, harm our banks, our hospitals and other transport systems. And we know that mythos is just the first model. And the biggest worry, I guess we have in Europe is that we have a US government that doesn't believe in regulating AI, and therefore we are in the hands of anthropic to decide whether they think the EU will be a trustworthy partner, partner or not. And also to decide who they will give access to and who is worthy of protecting against a dangerous model you have built. So and now we've also seen that the US has, of course, weaponized this model against the rest of the world or has tried to do so. So what is anthropic exactly doing to ensure people and businesses are safe, not only in the US, which I know that you do care about, but also in Europe. And that model does that. The model doesn't fall into the wrong hands and that this model won't be weaponized for geopolitical gain. I think it's really important for the European people to know that you are not developing something which you don't have to. You can also stop developing this model, but that you are developing when you are developing a model, you're doing that in a way that is actually responsible and safe and won't be weaponized against the European people. Thank you.”
Artificial Intelligence
2026-06-25 “Thank you very much. And thank you very much for this for this outset of, of, uh, the progress that is being made to make sure that our internal market functions better. Um, I think one of the things, and also that came up again, when we were having the, the one market declaration, um, is that, um, and also recently when we had the negotiations on the declaration, it always seems that there's a lot of pressure put on the European side to make sure that we streamline and harmonise. But then when it comes to the discussions with member states, the opposite reaction often happens. And I think a lot of the things that have been identified in the terrible tents are not even necessarily, um, you know, because of the way we have organised things as EU, but because, um, you know, member states find it very difficult to streamline the implementation of a lot of directives and and the way they deal with that. And I was wondering to what extent, um, is there a broader plan, um, by the European Commission to really make sure that when it comes to implementation, of course, it's the prerogative of member states, but that it would be, you know, way clearer to make sure that, um, you know, they really sit together, share best practices and already make a lot of alignments, um, before they start complaining that the European single market doesn't work because it's different in every member state. Um, I'm just very curious to hear a bit more on the efforts on that side. Thank you.”
EU Single Market harmonisation
2026-06-25 “Thank you very much for the presentation. Um, also very curious to all the questions that are answers to all the questions that have already been asked. Um, I would on top of that, I'd like to just focus on one more thing. So in this proposal, um, the commission is saying that we need three times as much cloud capacity. And I'm still very curious on what basis exactly? Because, of course, we have the model of the United States, which is a few tech billionaires spending ridiculous amounts of money into developing AI, building data centers without any regard for the environment, um, for whether that is actually good for the people around them, for the, for water, for energy. Um, and on top of that, they are building models based on incredible amounts of stolen data. I am wondering if that is the basis on which the European Commission has decided this number. And then I'm very curious if the European Commission can explain what um they consider European about that approach of developing cloud and AI. Thank you.”
Artificial Intelligence
2026-06-24 “Thank you very much. And thanks for the input for us and your insights on this. Um, I think my main main question remains, um, you know, when we're talking about protection of minors, you say we give parental controls, you put all the responsibility on, on parents while you're at the same time acknowledging that you've created a tool that is dangerous for kids. Why are you refusing to fully take responsibility yourself? And how do you see also the relation to the tool being not only harmful for minors, but the tool is also clearly harmful for adults? Isn't it high time you actually take responsibility to make a tool that is safe for everyone? I know you might have to make a little less profit, but also, looking at your profit numbers, I think you can actually afford that in order to make the world a safer place. Thank you.”
Safety features & content control for child protection online
2026-06-17 “I have a point of order. According to rule ten, paragraph two. I would like the services to check the behavior of some of our colleagues in this House today. I believe that it was not according to the dignity of this House, especially the chanting of racist chants, slogans and I would like the services to look into this. Thank you very much.”
EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
2026-06-17 “Thank you. Adolescents spent on average 4 and a half hours a day on screens, and during the weekends, that number rises to a staggering 6.1 hours a day. 6.1 hours in which they could have spent time with their friends, discovered the real world, and developed real life skills. Unfortunately, I can't say I'm surprised about these numbers. Even refreshing a page, so swiping down and waiting for new information, works exactly like a gambling machine. And social media companies use every single weakness in our brain chemistry to keep us hooked, leading to extreme content flooding our timelines. It is no wonder all of us struggle to keep our phones in our pockets. It is high time to ban Addictive Design in Europe for all in the upcoming Digital Fairness Act because by doing so, we will protect especially kids and adolescents, but also make the Internet healthier for all of us. Thank you.”
Recommender systems
2026-02-04 “E-000446/2026 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission The Commission recalls, as it has done on many occasions, its support to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) community in Hungary and in all Member States and has expressed full solidarity with the Pride events. The Commission is aware of the developments in Hungary described by the Honourable Members, concerning the bill of indictments against the Mayor of Budapest and the organiser of the Pécs’ Pride event, as well as the fine request. The Commission is also aware that on 5 March 2026, the Pest Central District Court suspended the criminal proceedings against the Budapest Mayor and requested that the Hungarian Constitutional Court examine whether certain legal provisions applied in the case, including the so-called ‘Child Protection’ Act, comply with constitutional principles and EU law. Similarly, on 10 March 2026, the criminal proceedings against the organiser of the Pécs pride event were suspended as a local court also turned to the Constitutional Court. The Commission will continue to follow the situation. An assessment of the Hungarian law related to the freedom of assembly is ongoing. The Commission has requested clarifications from the Hungarian authorities and is analysing the response received. The Commission has already brought in 2022 an infringement case to the Court of Justice of the EU against Hungary on the same ‘Child Protection’ Act 1 . In 2024, the Commission also referred Hungary to the Court of Justice, deeming that the law on the Protection of National Sovereignty breaches EU law 2 , and the Court agreed to the Commission’s request to deal with this case in an expedited procedure. These two cases are currently pending before the Court of Justice of the EU. 1 Case C-769/22, https://infocuria.curia.europa.eu/tabs/affair?sort=AFF_NUM-DESC&searchTerm=%22C769%2F22%22. 2 Case C-829/24, https://infocuria.curia.europa.eu/tabs/affair?sort=AFF_NUM-DESC&searchTerm=%22C829%2F24%22&publishedId=C-829%2F24.”
LGBTIQ+
2026-01-20 “E-000202/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission shares the view that these are very serious issues that need to be addressed in an effective way. Under the AI Act 1 , deepfakes are subject to labelling requirements that can address some concerns related to their misleading nature. Moreover, providers of generalpurpose AI models with systemic risk must assess and mitigate risks associated with their models, including those arising from illegal or discriminatory content 2 . The enforcement of these rules will only start from 2 August 2026. The Commission examined whether the current prohibitions in Article 5 of the AI Act 3 cover AI systems that generate child sexual abuse material or sexually explicit deepfake nudes, and concluded that they would not. The Commission is aware that Member States and Members of the European Parliament are proposing to strengthen the current protection and include such AI systems in the context of the AI Omnibus negotiations. On 26 January 2026, the Commission launched new proceedings against the provider of X under the Digital Services Act (DSA) 4 , which will determine if the company properly assessed and mitigated systemic risks associated with the deployment in the EU of Grok’s functionalities into X, including risks related to the dissemination of illegal content, such as manipulated sexually explicit images and content that may amount to child sexual abuse material. Should the Commission conclude that the provider of X has infringed its obligations under the DSA, it may adopt a fine of up to 6% of the provider’s total worldwide annual turnover. On 10 October 2025, the Commission sent a request for information to the providers of Apple App Store and Google Play under the DSA, to seek information on how they manage the risk of users, including minors, being able to download illegal or otherwise harmful applications (apps), including tools to create non-consensual sexualised content, the so-called ‘nudify apps’. 1 Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 167/2013, (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1139 and (EU) 2019/2144 and Directives 2014/90/EU, (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Artificial Intelligence Act), OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024. 2 The creation and dissemination of AI generated child sexual abuse material is criminalised under Directive 2011/93/EU and the producing and subsequently sharing of non-consensual deep fake images depicting a person engaging in sexually explicit activities is criminalised under Directive 2024/1385. 3 Article 5 AI Act. 4 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act), OJ L 277, 27.10.2022.”
Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
2026-01-14 “Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission 27.3.2026 Written question As the Commission noted in its replies to written questions E-004182/2025 and E-004689/2025, the Political Advertising Regulation [1] does not ban political advertising, nor does it require providers of online platforms to do so. Providers of very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) must identify, analyse and assess systemic risk under Article 34(1)(c) of the Digital Services Act [2] (DSA) on a case-by-case basis. The Commission is monitoring the implications of the relevant companies’ decisions also in light of the Election Guidelines [3] issued by the Commission in April 2024, which recommend concrete measures for the providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs to reduce risks to civic discourse and electoral processes. Article 39 of the DSA applies notwithstanding the removal of political advertising library initiatives previously offered by the providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs. These were voluntary practices which predated the DSA. The advertising repositories mandated by Article 39 of the DSA allow the research community and civil society organisations to identify advertisements including political advertisements disseminated in Member States on VLOPs and VLOSEs during the entire period they are presented and for one year after the advertisement was presented for the last time. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/900 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/900/oj/eng. [2] Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng. [3] Communication from the Commission, Commission Guidelines for providers of Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines on the mitigation of systemic risks for electoral processes pursuant to Article 35(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024XC03014&qid=1714466886277.”
Digital advertising · EU rules on digital competition
2025-10-13 “E-004013/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The 2025 Budapest Pride was held on 28 June despite the ban, and between 100 000 and 200 000 people were present. The Ministry of Interior 1 stated that facial recognition systems 2 will not be used to punish attendees 3 . The AI Act prohibits use of real-time remote biometric identification for law enforcement purposes (Article 5.1.h, Article 5(2) – (7) AI Act). The Commission is currently assessing the reply provided by the Hungarian authorities in order to determine the compliance with EU law, in particular with the AI Act, and to decide on any appropriate next steps. According to Article 113 AI Act, the enforcement of the prohibitions by national authorities shall start from 2 August 2026. 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Interior_(Hungary). 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_systems. 3 Hungarian Pride parade ban - Wikipedia FN 180 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Pride_parade_ban#cite_note-184.”
Privacy & law enforcement · Artificial Intelligence
2025-09-02 “E-003366/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of reports concerning the dissemination of illegal advertisements of drugs, alcohol and nicotine-related products to minors on Snapchat. Under the Digital Services Act 1 , Snapchat was designated by the Commission as a very large online platform and is subject to a set of reinforced obligations. The provider of Snapchat is required to diligently identify, assess and analyse the systemic risks stemming from the design, functioning and use made of its services and related systems and put in place effective measures to mitigate the identified systemic risks. All providers of online platforms accessible to minors, are required to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security to minors. The Commission is working closely with the Dutch Digital Services Coordinator, Autoriteit Consument en Markt, who is currently investigating Snapchat’s compliance with these obligations 2 . The Commission is evaluating the Tobacco Products Directive 3 and Tobacco Advertising Directive 4 . The evaluation is looking at young people’s access to novel tobacco and nicotine products and the findings will inform the next steps concerning these two Directives. Obligations for the collection of e-cigarettes are covered by the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive 5 . WEEE collection points must be provided to enable users to discard e-cigarettes and return used e-cigarettes free of charge when buying new ones. The Batteries Regulation 6 requires that portable batteries incorporated in products marketed in the EU are readily removable and replaceable at any time during the lifetime of the product. This provision will ban e-cigarettes that do not have readily removable and replaceable batteries. 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act). https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022R2065. 2 ACM start DSA-onderzoek naar Snapchat vanwege illegale handel vapes aan minderjarigen https://www.acm.nl/nl/publicaties/acm-start-dsa-onderzoek-naar-snapchat-vanwege-illegale-handel-vapes-aanminderjarigen. 3 Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC. https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/40/oj/eng. 4 Directive 2003/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/33/oj/eng. 5 Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/19/oj/eng. 6 Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries, amending Directive 2008/98/EC and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Directive 2006/66/EC. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj/eng as of 18 February 2027.”
EU regulation on plain packaging for tobacco products · Restrictions of flavours in tobacco products · Electronic cigarettes
2025-06-16 “E-002415/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is closely monitoring the situation in Hungary and is assessing the implications that the legislative changes referred to by the Honourable Members may have under EU law, including as regards compliance with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act 1 . In this context, the Commission has asked Hungary for certain clarifications as regards the use of facial recognition and is currently analysing the received replies. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj/eng.”
Surveillance equipment & spyware · Artificial Intelligence
2025-01-28 “E-000384/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission Meta has recently shared ad hoc risk assessments with the Commission regarding the changes announced on 7 January 2025 as required 1 by the Digital Services Act (DSA). 2 The Commission is currently examining those assessments and cannot comment on whether Meta has properly complied with its DSA obligations at this stage, neither as regards whether the ad hoc risk assessments were properly conducted, nor on the implications of the hate speech policy changes for users in the EU. To address illegal hate speech, the DSA requires Meta to put in place a notice and action mechanism 3 for its online platforms where users can report content that contains illegal hate speech within the meaning of EU or Member State law, independently of the content’s status under Meta’s hate speech policy. As part of this mechanism, the DSA requires providers of online platforms to prioritise reports of content considered illegal by trusted flaggers. 4 Meta is also a signatory of the revised Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online +, 5 a voluntary code of conduct that was recognised as a code of conduct within the meaning of Article 45 DSA, 6 which seeks to prevent and address the spread of illegal hate speech online. The Commission cannot comment on the compliance of Meta’s notice and action system with the DSA at this stage because it is part of an ongoing investigation. 7 As part of its general supervisory task, the Commission consistently monitors whether Meta’s terms and conditions comply with the DSA, including its Article 14(4) DSA. The Commission is committed to promoting LGBTIQ rights, as outlined in the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025, 8 and will remain so in the future. 9 1 Articles 34 and 42 DSA. 2 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) OJ L277/1. https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2065 3 Article 16 DSA. 4 Article 22 DSA. 5 https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/111777 6 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/code-conduct-countering-illegal-hate-speech-online 7 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_2373 8 Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 COM(2020) 698 final. https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0698 9 See Commission work programme 2025, COM(2025) 45 final p. 9. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025DC0045”
LGBTIQ+ · EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination
2024-12-11 “E-002858/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission Article 42(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act – DSA 1 ) requires very large online platforms (VLOPs) and search engines (VLOSEs) to publish the audit report and the audit implementation report on an easily accessible section of its online interface. The 19 VLOPs and VLOSEs 2 which were designated in April 2023 published their reports at the end of 2024. The Commission has published an overview table with links to the risk assessment, audit and audit implementation reports 3 . A regulatory dialogue is in place with the designated entities in the framework of the DSA, including on audits, where feedback is provided in relation to the first year’s DSA audit. The Commission is gathering inputs concerning the need of possible additional guidance on this topic. DSA audits contribute to the enforcement work of the Commission and of the Member States, with other relevant information, such as researchers’ reports pursuant to DSA Article 40. The Commission constantly monitors compliance with the DSA and, where suspicions of infringement arise, it can open formal proceedings. As of January 2025, 10 formal proceedings have been opened against X, TikTok, AliExpress, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, and Temu because of potential breaches of the DSA in various areas 4 , one of these has been closed, following commitments by TikTok 5 . 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2065 2 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2413 3 How the Digital Services Act enhances transparency online | Shaping Europe’s digital future 4 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/list-designated-vlops-and-vloses 5 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_4161”
Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content · EU rules on digital competition
2024-12-04 “E-002762/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission emphasises that the assessment of the appropriate qualification under the Digital Services Act (DSA) 1 applicable to the different groups available on Telegram should be made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the DSA, in particular its Articles 2 (Scope) and 3 (Definitions) as clarified in Recitals 5, 6, 13, 15 and 29. Pursuant to Article 13 of the DSA, Telegram has appointed its legal representative in Belgium. Therefore, the Belgian Digital Services Coordinator is competent for the supervision of Telegram under the DSA. While Telegram is not designated as a very large online platform, it needs to abide by the DSA rules that are applicable to its services. In accordance with Article 33 of the DSA, the Commission designates online platforms and online search engines as ‘very large online platforms’ and ‘very large online search engines’ when they surpass 45 million average monthly active recipients in the EU. The DSA further obliges providers to publish the latest user numbers for their services every six months. The Commission monitors the market and looks closely into platforms that show a growing trend of users in the EU. Articles 5 (Caching) and 6 (Hosting) of the DSA are irrelevant for the purpose of determining whether a platform could be designated as a ‘very large online platform’ or a ‘very large search engine’. The Commission wishes to underline that, without prejudice to the Commission’s role as guardian of the Treaties, Member States have the primary responsibility to monitor the application of the relevant legal provisions and to take the necessary steps for enforcement. The Commission is closely cooperating with the Digital Services Coordinators in this regard. 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act).”
Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
2024-11-06 “E-002454/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the developments and is in close contact with TikTok to discuss the implications of these changes in light of its obligation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) 1 . The DSA does not prescribe any specific rules about the resources to be dedicated to content moderation. However, the DSA does require online platforms, including TikTok, to enforce their content moderation rules in a diligent, objective and proportionate manner. In addition, the DSA requires platforms to have effective internal complaint-handling systems and grants users the right to challenge content moderation decisions. While automated moderation is allowed, online platforms must be transparent about its use and accuracy. In addition, online platforms should ensure that qualified staff ensure fair and unbiased decision-making of their internal complaint-handling systems. The DSA also requires very large online platforms and very large search engines to diligently mitigate any systemic risks stemming from the design, functioning or the (mis)use made of their service. To that end, it is important that designated companies put in place adequate content moderation processes and dedicate enough resources for diligent content moderation. The Commission is closely monitoring TikTok’s compliance with the DSA and will follow up with formal enforcement steps if appropriate. 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act).”
Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
“Online hate against minorities. Also, the eeaS has done very interesting work on that, for example against the LGBTQ community. So it would be good to to go a bit further on that. And we could also even make it stronger and really starting to work on constitutional guarantees to strengthen democracy and the rule of law against autocratic movements. I think for NGOs, it's very essential for the rule of law and the functioning of our democracy, um, that they are protected. And also the funding for NGOs is very important. Um, two points that we find, uh, problematic. Um, one, uh, is that reporter agrees that we should not stigmatize NGOs. Uh, but that's why we are against the transparency of NGO proposal that's mentioned in the document. Uh, because that can also be known as the foreign agent law. Um, that's exactly something that is contradictory to protecting NGOs and on migration. Um, we believe that migrants are also used as a scapegoat. And, uh, these vulnerable people are being used as pions. Um, but, uh, we first believe that Frontex need to prove their commitment to human rights and democracy before we start using them as a border army against vulnerable people. So those are the two points that we would like to see changed in in your report. Thank you.”
Regulation of NGOs in Europe
“Thank you very much. Um, uh, first of all, I mean, there's no not many of my colleagues in the room anymore. Um, there were already not many to begin with, but I see there's a lot of other people here. And, um, I want to specifically thank you for being here, because last week I had the pleasure to visit them because their data centers actually just ten minutes ride away from the European Parliament. So I highly recommend if you ever want to see a good European data center in action, uh, visit them. Uh, it's, uh, it will not take a lot of your time during the Strasbourg week. Um, and further, I will use the opportunity to ask a bit more, uh, further on on cloud sovereignty. Um, so to the European Commission on the upcoming cloud and AI Development Act, my expectation for this initiative is that this will be a key tool to make important leaps when it comes to cloud sovereignty and reducing our dependence on us hyperscalers. Um, would you agree that in order to make real progress, we need a definition of cloud sovereignty and a cloud sovereignty framework to be part of the upcoming act? Um, and your colleagues in DG digital presented earlier this autumn. Cloud sovereignty framework to be used to evaluate cloud sovereignty in public procurement. And the French and German cybersecurity agencies have announced that they will work on the basis of it and come up with a strengthened framework. So does the Commission support this effort in any way? And the cloud sovereignty framework presents cloud sovereignty as a scale. And contracting authorities have the option to decide that for the particular cloud service they're procuring, sovereignty is not important at all. The French-German effort looks at including a pass or fail criteria for cloud sovereignty. How does the Commission see such an approach in comparison to this scale? Thank you.”
EU digital & tech sovereignty
“Thank you so much. Um. And thank you, chair. And thank you, rapporteur. Um, in the committee, we are now working on our opinion, and we share the concern expressed by Mr. Mueller in his draft report about the dominance of the selection based on lowest price, because this leads to downward pressure on wages and working conditions. We cannot accept that Accepted. Cleaners, call center workers, nursing home workers, security guards and other essential workers are employed with precarious working conditions with our public money. And this is why lowest price only should be excluded as an option in the revision. In order to ensure that quality criteria, including social criteria, are always considered. The current procurement framework and the voluntary approach to socially responsible public procurement is not providing the necessary legal clarity for public buyers, and has not had enough impact. The fear of litigation has a chilling effect on taking on board social criteria in procurement. To tackle this, it should be clarified that criteria on collective agreements should always be considered as linked to the subject matter, and that the horizontal social clause is a binding principle for contracting authorities at the same level as transparency and non-discrimination. Finally, the public procurement framework should ensure better access for SMEs and non-profit nonprofit or social economy enterprises. We need to ensure that gender equality is better taken into account in tendering and improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market. The application of public procurement rules on the social and health sectors has had a detrimental effect on the continuity and quality of care. This needs to be revised. We have sped up our process in order for our work to be relevant for the info committee. Our first shadow meeting is tomorrow and we're scheduled to vote on the 13th of May. And I look forward to working with the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs in the Imco Committee. Thank you.”
EU policy on social criteria in public funding
“Thank you very much. Thank you, Commissioner, for your ambitious agenda. Um, as Greens, we we warmly welcome, um, your suggestions and ideas of of, uh, what uh, we will move forward towards when it comes to protecting consumers and supporting consumers in Europe. Um, uh, also very happy to hear what you said about dynamic pricing. Uh, even with an MEP salary, uh, more than €1,000 for Lady Gaga tickets were a bit much for me. So happy that it will become a bit fairer for everyone. Um, and also to hear that you're looking at the single digital ticketing. Um, so I see that the chair disagrees that €1,000 is too much for Lady Gaga. Um, anyway, I also have some some questions for you. Um, so, uh, when it comes to, um, dark patterns and, um, the ucpd, I think, um, the, the recent research that was done by the European Commission is very clear, um, that, uh, the Ucpd has primacy over the DSA, which, uh, stems me hopeful, uh, towards making sure that we can really, um, ban addictive design, uh, in many ways, but not and not only, um, in the easy, uh, things like online games, which we already had some clarity on, but also, for example, for social media. Um, so I wonder if that is if you can be a bit more clear, if that's also something you're looking at, if we can really make it as horizontal as possible, um, and maybe even go a bit broader because for me, having simple legislation means that it applies to all services in the same way, and that we actually won't have disputes on whether it accounts for certain platforms. And that's why I'm also interested. You already mentioned you want to do more on transparency for AI, but is it also something you're looking at whether addictive design of AI chatbots, for example, could be part of the DFA because we're already seeing that these chatbots are designed to hook you, make sure you don't get out of the conversation with actually already very harmful things. So curious to hear how you look at that. Thank you.”
Recommender systems
“Thank you. At only 14 years old, Rose became a victim of sextortion via Snapchat. A stranger had made fake naked images of her and if she didn't pay, he threatened he would ruin her life. This type of deepfake technology is an enormous danger for the safety of everyone, and especially harms women and young girls. Now, with grog integrated in social media and many other deep new tools stopping search engine outcomes. Committing a sexual crime is just two clicks away. How many women still have to find a I driven deepfakes of themselves in the most disgusting, hateful graphic scenes just to intimidate, humiliate, blackmail or silence them? Last week, over 50 MEPs from the broad coalition to support a ban on deep new technology. Today I ask you again, Commissioner Virkkunen, will you ensure that women and children are safe in Europe, online and offline? Will you ban all AI that facilitates image based sexual violence in Europe under article five of the AI act? Thank you.”
Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
“Thank you very much. Um, the other groups aren't here. Um, well, thank you so much. It has taken some years, but finally, the senior management of Amazon has shown the willingness to appear in front of our committee. I was hoping, actually, that we would have a senior manager that could give us more answers than something they're reading and repeating from a screen. But maybe on my questions that can be happening. And because I think the previous hearings we've had already gave us a great overview of the appalling working conditions in Amazon warehouses, where the algorithm is ever driving up productivity targets, and also the lack of respect for trade unions, and also how we organise the labour market in Europe. Um, so, dear Mr., could you please give us a detailed explanation on how productivity targets are set? Would an Amazon warehouse worker meeting targets from, say, 2020 still be retained with today's goals? And would you be willing to give transparency to workers and trade unions on what parameters are used for setting these targets? And you mentioned that technology changes jobs and there's no plan to replace workers. So how do you then react to the New York Times reporting of October last year, based on access to internal documents that eventually Amazon plans to automate 75% of jobs and to replace 600,000 jobs in the US through automation.”
EU regulation on worker representation in company decisions
“Thank you very much for this important work. I think we can all acknowledge that our democracy is under threat. There's a lot of pressure put on it, both from foreign interference but also online manipulation. Um, the radical rights that is growing and want to be autocrats in the European Union. Um, and we all know the standard tricks they're using of scapegoating certain people or Organizations into spreading fear, and by doing so, um, trying to undermine our democracy and fundamental rights. Um, I'm looking very much forward to work on this with, um, with the rapporteur and the shadows team. Um, and there's a lot of points we can already, um, appreciate and and warmly, warmly welcome. Uh, for example, on, um, foreign interference and misinformation. So the call to have a new independent structure to combat FEMA and analyze and actually address threats. Uh, we we fully agree with that. Uh, we think we can beef up the text on what the structure should do. Um, and we should, uh, analyze data, but also make sure there's enough competence to actually act against FEMA. Um, when it comes to the digital acquis, um, our public debates online are currently dominated by a small number of online platforms that now constantly track us and divide us with their toxic algorithms. Um, so first of all, also after what we heard this morning, these engagements based recommender systems, um, and it's very good, uh, that, um, your analysis, um, really um, goes into this and also you mention it because we know that there are democracies and we should really act now against it.”
Disinformation & online freedoms
“Thank you very much, chair, and welcome, Madam Vice President. Um, we are currently witnessing an unprecedented fusion of government and online platform powers in the US, and the Trump administration wants to achieve global tech dominance and weaponizes our dependencies on US big tech in its quest for power. At the same time, we also see that we are also still too dependent on China for network infrastructure and rare earth materials crucial for the digital industry. And therefore, I very much welcome your steps that are being taken to increase our tech sovereignty. And I very much look forward to the tech sovereignty package. At the same time, I believe that also the enforcement of our Offer digital rules should be more swift. And I have a question regarding the upcoming cloud and AI development Act. In light of the sovereignty washing we're seeing, uh, especially from the American hyperscalers. Everyone calls themselves European and sovereign nowadays. Are you planning to introduce a clear definition of cloud sovereignty that puts central emphasis on European ownership and control as a hard pass or fail criteria? And are you planning to include strict by European criteria for critical cloud services, for example, for public infrastructure? And my second question is, um, that I believe that the European Commission should play a leading role in matching demand and supply for sovereign tech by stimulating common procurement of sovereign tech in a similar way it is, as it is supporting common procurement of defence products. Would you be open to explore this option? Thank you.”
EU digital & tech sovereignty
“Thank you. Thank you. Rapporteur and fellow shadows. Um, commissioners, colleagues, this is a historic vote. A broad majority in this parliament says enough is enough. We need to ban the addictive, personalized recommender systems based on clicks and interaction for children. And the parliament repeats we need to ban harmful, addictive design for everyone. We will no longer tolerate that big tech companies profit over the demise of our mental health, society and youngsters. We know the harm the online environment brings to kids. Social media are swamps that drag us into worlds that promotes radicalization, self-harm or eating disorders. We know screen time is going through the roof, with 1 in 4 children displaying behavioral patterns, mirroring smartphone addiction with huge risks for children's development, attention span and health. We know chat rooms of online video games are too easy a gateway for groomers. We know chatbots have recommended young people to take their own lives. We have the knowledge, and now we need the political will to demand from these big corporations that they make the internet a safe place again. It's up to us. Do we allow these big corporations to continue as they want, or do we take the opportunity of the upcoming Digital Fairness Act to make the internet safe, for once and for all? Thank you.”
Recommender systems
“National security is such a broad concept that it could open a gigantic loophole, and the light regime should be limited to research and education institutions when when carrying out research and education activities. No light regime for small sized operators. Not applying the same strict cybersecurity requirement would be competitive disadvantage for these operators. We believe we should do a lot more to help SMEs with compliance. And thirdly, we should increase support to SMEs rather than lowering the bar. We should offer more support to get over it. I have therefore proposed the setting up of a Competitiveness Support helpdesk. It will advise applicants on administrative and technical compliance, and assist with the preparation and verification of technical documentation through standardised tools and guidance. It will organise training workshops and publish detailed user guides tailored to SMEs and educational and research stakeholders. It will also manage other forms of support, including financial support, to develop upstream and downstream activities in the space sector. I also see this as a task for the EU Space Agency, and it should incorporate the information portal and support for all companies, regardless of size that was foreseen in the proposal. I'm very much looking forward to continuing the work on this, and I think as Imco, we can come to a very comprehensive and clear report about what you can and cannot do in our internal market. Thank you.”
Scope of EU cybersecurity obligations
“Thank you chair. And thank you so much to the to the experts. Um, I have some questions, um, especially regarding the DFA, uh, because we're of course, in a, in a super bizarre situation that we have given the internet over to a few capitalists that are now trying to just get as much money as possible out of making us all addicted. Um, so I think it is very happy to see that you are all working on on the addictive design. Um, but I'm a bit wondering about the scope in general of the DFA, but also on addictive design, because I keep hearing us talking about digital products. And I'm wondering if you're also looking at digital services, um, because, for example, there are certain chatbots, which is, I think, something that we should be very worried about. Chatbots are also designed to make sure we're all addicted to them, and they start behaving like an abusive partner, trying to avoid you from ever leaving the chat room. Um, so I think it's very important we also look at that. So I'm curious if you're also looking into that because, um, it's very often thought that the DSA, um, covers, uh, most online services, but it only applies insofar as the Ucpd does not cover dark patterns and addictive design. So actually we can improve it. Um, so it's it's not really an issue of legal overlap, but actually of a will to tackle addictive design for all online services. So I'm very, very curious to hear what what your process is on this. Um, how far will you go? And looking at all legal services and specifically, um, what are your thoughts now on chatbots? Uh, which is also one of the points that we made in the recently adopted report on Protection of Minors online. Thank you.”
Safety features & content control for child protection online
“If right wing parties in this House were to decide, every SMS and every photo which were sent by SMS or mail would be suspicious. What they want is all messages to be scanned, so as to see whether your photos might actually contain child abuse or examples of child abuse. This means no more privacy, because the companies of Bill Gates and Zuckerberg would be involved in that, and those reports would then go to the police, and they would then have to start looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's start looking for genuine solutions. This is why, once again, the European Parliament voted fortunately in favour of investigations carried out in. When there's actually evidence. This means we can find the perpetrators. In addition to this, we have to ensure we have extra funding for the police so they can do their job in investigating and tracing cases and as well as improved European cooperation. At the same time, we should also ban the apps so as to enable us to fight against child grooming. Thank you.”
Privacy & detection of online child abuse
“Bullying is a problem of all ages, but nowadays everyone has a potential weapon for cyber harassment in their pockets. It's the first thing people have in their hands when they get up. And the last thing they see before they go to bed. And we increasingly see people online being harassed, especially if you stand out, especially if you're a woman, especially if you're a woman with a progressive opinion. If you are successful sexual and reproductive health care activists like Nika, from my voice, my choice, people try and silence you in every way possible. And the latest form non-consensual AI generated sexual content and even sponsored so that as many people as possible see it. Let me be clear. No one should endure this. And, Nika, we stand with you. But we can also not be too surprised with deep new tools stopping search engine outcomes. Committing a sexual crime is just two clicks away. And that's why we should ban these violent and harmful tools under the AI act. And to take it a bit broader, I'm happy that the commission is taking action with a coherent strategy, and I hope they are as ready to fight the bullies as we are and to deliver. So make sure notice and action works with hateful, harassing and bullying content being taken offline swiftly, and troll groups that do not manage to censure with organised and targeted reporting. Let us all work together towards a world where everyone can be safe, online and offline, and aren't bullied into silence or worse. Thank you.”
Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
“Thank you very much. Um, I welcome the work done by the rapporteurs on the declaration file. In particular, I welcome the proposals that ensure access to the relevant information by all actors involved in ensuring enforcement of the posting rules. I very much welcome the underlying intention of the Commission proposal to digitalize and streamline reporting requirements to make life easier for businesses. It is, however, of key importance that digitalisation also benefits workers and public authorities. The information received on posted workers is key for combating social dumping and unfair competition. In order to target and conduct effective labour inspections, it is key to have access to the relevant information. A very short and closed list, as proposed by the Commission, will not allow to cater for different national labour markets and social security systems. To effectively enforce the rules on posting, all member states have opted to require notification of posting in line with the enforcement directive. We should not lose sight of the original intention of the notification requirements and make sure that simplification does not end up effectively in the regulation. An approach that will allow flexibility regarding the exact data points requested that many member states opt into, will lead a lot more reduction in reporting than the maximum harmonisation approach. I look forward to working together with the Co-rapporteurs and all the shadows. Thank you.”
EU regulation of cross-border and posted workers
“What are your plans for Europe when it comes to automation. And dear Mr. Sapolsky, Amazon keeps telling us it respects EU rules. Yet the record shows a company that litigates delays and dodges when those rules actually bite. You took the European Commission to court to escape your obligations under the DSA, and for the lack of respecting our data protection rules. Amazon was hit with a 746 million GDPR fine, the largest on record to date, and France's data protection agency also fined Amazon 15 million over excessive surveillance of workers surveillance. The thing you just denied, that doesn't sound like a company that respects EU rules to me. So here's my question why should an EU institution or any member state award Amazon any lucrative public contracts, including cloud and digital infrastructure contracts, when Amazon's pattern is to fight EU digital law in court? Rack up record sanctions and then present itself as a trustworthy partner.”
EU rules on digital competition
“Thank you. A few weeks ago, I visited Silicon Valley in the midst of Trump's tariff chaos. To get to the bottom of the question of Europe's role in the world and how to deal with our current dependence on big tech. And I learned a lot. Europe needs to shake off the idea that we can't compete against big tech companies, and that building European alternatives is simply not possible. What is simply unthinkable is to stay as dependent on the US for digital technology as we are today. Even more so now. The big tech CEOs are backing Trump because it's bad for democracy. The economy and our security. Europe is full of talent, and all American companies follow the amazing work of our universities closely. We are, however, lagging behind in turning innovation into businesses. This, we need to make sure that our talent gets the support, access to financing and mentorship to build great ideas into successful businesses and to develop our own tech. We need massive investments. We need to make it easier to invest across borders, and we need to give preference to European companies when spending public money. With the federal government stepping back in the US, we are seeing fragmentation. Our answer cannot be deregulation at the European level, but should be clear rules that provide a stable investment environment and no barriers for startups when they want to expand to another member state. I am convinced that if we make the right choices and investments now, we can put Europe on a path to a flourishing tech economy that's also sovereign. Thank you.”
EU digital & tech sovereignty
“Thank you. Last week, champagne was popped in Big Tech's headquarters. Their business model, based on stealing people's deeply personal information to train AI, will finally be legal in the EU. And while chatbots are emotionally abusing people and even recommending children to take their own lives, our commission decides to weaken our AI laws. Honestly, Vice-President, I am really disappointed we discussing our tech laws and rolling out the red carpet for Big Tech's business model is a deep bow to Trump and his tech oligarchy and a big loss for European citizens and companies. And what do you get in return? Days later, US State Secretary asking to settle outstanding cases against Microsoft, Google and Amazon. It will never be enough for Trump. We know the DMA and DSA are next on their wish list. And EPP, let's be sensible innovation isn't stealing data and exploiting resources. True innovation is choosing our own way, developing the most safe, privacy friendly and energy efficient technology in the world. In Europe. Thank you.”
Artificial Intelligence
“Thank you very much. My question to Alliance for Europe. So I think we can all agree that the, the kind of interference uncovered is pretty basic. Could you maybe say anything about whether you think that algorithms based on clicks and interactions are actually just too vulnerable for these kind of basic attacks and that we should intervene in them and to Miss Nikolai I was wondering if because this is a discussion that we're also having very often with the AI office wondering if you could elaborate a bit on the kind of collaboration you have on on this, because they're now in the process of of making this. Thank you.”
Recommender systems
“Thank you very much. Um, and thanks so much for the presentations. I have two questions. My first question is to Mr. von Thun from the Open Markets Institute. Um, I want to thank you for your very clear message on the broken market for cloud computing that is dominated by the US hyperscalers and our dependence for essential digital infrastructures. Um, and I welcome your call for breaking the oligopolies beyond tackling anti-competitive barriers, which would be the number one priority, uh, which which would be the number one priority. We still need to build and scale European alternatives France and Germany have announced recently at the Digital Sovereignty Summit to work on common procurement of public digital infrastructures such as cloud. I am convinced that public procurement can be an important lever for strengthening European alternatives. The European Commission has shown, with the common procurement of Covid vaccines and its efforts to pool defence procurement, that it can take the lead. Would you support a European Common procurement initiative for the public sector? And I also have a question for Miss Philippa from Kindle on the 18th of November. Kindle has announced that it has requested permission for the acquisition of sovereignty and IT and cloud service provider from the Netherlands, my home country. This has stirred a lot of reactions and concerns. Sovereignty is key for providing essential public digital services, such as the digital ID application, and for a lot of processes in the Justice Department. It was also chosen by the City of Amsterdam to support to move away from the hyperscalers. Kyndryl is an American company subject to the US Cloud Act and to other US data access provisions. Does Kindle's global corporate structure subject EU hosted customer data to potential disclosure obligations under the US Cloud Act will remain a legally separate EU based subsidiary with independent EU governance to mitigate exposure to US surveillance authorities.”
EU digital & tech sovereignty
“Also for being here. I'm sorry I will talk again about digital. All. Um. And, um, I think maybe, first of all, on, on, you know, the, the AI act and what you mentioned. I think, um, one of the messages I would like to give you is one of the things we are craving for is that whatever is done on AI, it comes from a clear vision of what we want with AI in Europe. And I hope we are not just condoning the fact that the self-inflicted problem by the European Commission, that they don't, that they're worried that they don't have the guidelines ready, uh, can't be the main reason for postponing the AI act. Um, and I really hope that, um, we, you know, considering the fact that we there's quite a lack of vision from the European Commission. Uh, we can see more vision from the council which way we want to go when it comes to AI. Um, and then I would like to to compliment you on, on the work you're planning to do on addictive design. Um, I think it's very clear that no one's Want. Self-discipline can be too manipulative and addictive tricks that we face online, and there's clear proof of the negative effects of addictive design and excessive screen time such as anxiety, depression, and even effects on our brain development. Um, so, um, I think it's high time to gain control back over our own time and our own timelines. And, um, we see that the digital, uh, Fairness Act has been pushed forward already. Uh, a few times. Um, so I was wondering if you will, uh, work towards, uh, urgent and speedy presentation of the announced Digital Fairness Act and specifically ensure that it, uh, contains clear and binding rules against addictive design for all online users, and not only about minors, because we know minors are most vulnerable. But of course, everyone is affected by this.”
Artificial Intelligence
“Thank you. In this geopolitical reality, Europe cannot afford to be naive. The way Big Tech's recommender systems work is the perfect handshake between tech capitalism, foreign actors and the far right. Anti-democratic actors form global alliances. They spread disinformation, outrage and fear to drive us apart. And Big Tech's polarizing algorithms spread these messages like a virus, to make us feel bad and anxious and keep us glued to our screen. And the tech bros. They just profit from all of this. It has become way too easy for Putin, XI Jinping and Trump to manipulate our public debates using the manipulation machines in our pockets. Online controversy then trickles down offline to our talk shows, political debates and elections. The Romanian elections already taught us the hard way just how easy it is to turn a whole election via TikTok. Still, after a year, no action from the commission against TikTok. Commissioner, it's time to really step up and defend our democracies from right to left. In the European Parliament. There is more support than ever to do so. Please ban manipulative recommender systems based on profiling and engagement.”
Recommender systems
“Thank you very much. Um, and apologies, I wasn't able to be here the whole time. Um, but since you're all experts on on foreign financing and democracies, I guess I can ask these questions to you. Um, because one of the things that, um, especially my home country, the Netherlands, we've been grappling with is about transparency of party funds, funding. Um, and, um, you know, there are already quite some rules, uh, on that. Um, but one of the, the difficult things is how to enforce it. And I was wondering if you have some recommendations specifically on the enforcement, like, um, do you would you recommend a compulsory auditing by the European Court of Auditors or something or, or something else? And also, where do you would you recommend to draw the lines. So no funding from third countries? Uh, only from risky countries. Um, and also how do you yeah, how do you really prevent it? You know, even from Russia, for example, it is being circumvented. Um, I would be very interested to hear a bit more to make sure that we draw the right balance, but also make sure that certain parties aren't funded by, for example, Russia. Thank you.”
Transparency requirements for interest groups
“Um, then, um, some of the additions, uh, I would like to present, uh, is, first of all, asking for an EU wide recommendation on screen time. Um, as long as we don't have clear rules, um, or clarity on on whether kids are allowed online, it will already give parents huge relief to know that, you know, everywhere in Europe, uh, the health organizations recommend kids to have certain, uh, limits to screen time so that they can refer to that similarly to how we dealt, uh, for example, with smoking. Um, then I think it's also very important that we have further look at the exploitation of miners, for example, by being part of family vloggers and how minors are being pushed to be influencers, um, without even seeing any of the profits that are made there. I think it's very important that we look further into making sure that kids are protected not only when they're consuming, but also when they're contributing to the online sphere. And, uh, I will also, um, put forward some points on making sure that we look at companion, uh, chatbots. I think this is also mentioned already by my colleague, uh, because unfortunately, we've already seen some very tragic incidents, uh, where minors were thinking they were talking with a real person, but actually, um, there was a chatbot that wasn't properly regulated, that, uh, was their conversation partner.”
Safety features & content control for child protection online
“Thank you very much. And thanks to the European Commission for opening up this investigation. Um, I'm very curious because, um, I mean, if you paid attention, uh, we knew that Grock already did this for many, many months. Uh, I'm wondering when, uh, the consideration of starting an investigation actually started within the European Commission. Uh, was that after it became a really, really big story, or was this already part of the ongoing investigations on eggs and what they were doing? Um, I'm very curious also because you're now investigating, of course, the proliferation of, um, especially the content, um, that comes out of these, uh, horrible apps. Um, and, um, I was wondering if you're also looking at the apps themselves and also on the spread of these apps. Um, if you look online for legislation on deep nudes, um, I can tell you that, uh, your search engine results is unfortunately not full of good ideas on how to get rid of these apps, but of the apps themselves with the most horrific descriptions on what you can ask these apps to do. Um, is this also something the European Commission is looking into? Because for me, this has no space in the EU, you know, asking for. Ursula von der Leyen with a funny hat. Sure. Asking for von der Leyen naked in a compromise position. No, we shouldn't want to have these kind of apps in the European Union. Um, that's also why I think we should ban these apps altogether in the AI act. Very curious also what you think, but I'm also very interested to hear if the European Commission is willing to go beyond the spread of the images on social media, and also look at the spread of the apps through different other means. Thank you.”
Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
“Thank you very much, chair, and thank you so much to the speakers for their very interesting insights. Um, I fully subscribe to what was said before on the fact that we need action. Um, and, um, uh, I also have a few questions. Uh, one is to, um, Mr. Ulz, um, I was wondering how you see, um, uh, steps towards creating more of a federation of different European providers, uh, to make sure that different services can work together to stand up together against, uh, the network effect of these very, uh, big hyperscalers. And I also want to thank you for pointing out, again, that we can do better, Um, when it comes to our own communications, um, and, um, for, um, um, how do you look at the ambition to increase the data center capacity, uh, in the EU by 3 to 5 times? Um, and, um, also, um, to the commission. I was wondering, um, how you see, um, the simplification efforts, uh, that will actually give fewer rules and fewer guidelines, uh, to the big tech companies, um, that are coming up, um, in light of, uh, competition for European businesses. Thank you.”
EU digital & tech sovereignty
“Um, that doesn't happen often. Thank you so much to the speakers. Um, very interesting to hear your input. Also, again, from a different perspective. Um, I have a question, uh, to Miss Kowalczyk as well. Um, because right now, of course, we see that there's an age limit in, in France. Uh, we also see, indeed a huge increase of VPNs that are now even giving away for free by, uh, by certain telecom providers. Um, but that's not really what my question is about. I'm very curious, because what we're seeing is that, um, the kind of porn platforms that adhere to the rule of having these age verification, um, are the bigger platforms, uh, while the more dodgy, smaller platforms are the ones that are still freely accessible. I'm wondering if you see, um, how you look at this and whether you have the feeling that, um, having, um, age verification for the bigger platforms is enough of a deterrent, uh, or that, uh, Children will still access porn platforms, but then they actually go to the more dodgy and smaller ones. Um, and my other question, um, uh, is to, uh, Mr.. Uh, if I pronounce it correctly, um, I think, um, what is so interesting, um, when you look at the research also, especially, uh, research, that is where you discuss with kids, which I think is a very good idea. Um, you see a very big difference between, um, between gender. Um, and I was wondering if you've also done a bit more research on that, for example, when you talk about online games, um, the harms that that are faced by primarily boys that are on that, if you also have some data around that. Thank you.”
Regulation of pornography in the EU
“Drivers are managed by an app. You are mistaken. Algorithmic management has spread across the entire labor market. In Amazon warehouses. Every movement is dictated by algorithms. Call center workers receive real time feedback on their emotions, and office workers have their keystrokes tracked. European Commission is setting goals to incorporate AI in as many applications as possible. Amazing if it takes boring and repetitive tasks away. Problematic if it uses. If it's used to erode workers rights. We can't treat the introduction of algorithmic management like just another update that's installed. Workers need to be informed and consulted. In the age of AI, workers should still have the right to know how a decision about them is made. Workers should still have the right to explanation and reviews of these decisions, and workers should be protected from their bosses tracking their Spotify to learn about their emotional state or period tracking apps to know if they are expecting a child. Nine out of ten Europeans, according to Eurobarometer support rules on algorithmic management. So now it's up to us. Will we vote in favour of this tomorrow? Thank you.”
Artificial Intelligence
“Thank you. To keep Europe going, we are spending more than 2 trillion per year through public procurement. That's a two and then 12 zeros. Right now, public authorities don't feel like they have any other option than going for the cheapest one. Therefore, it is very positive that the European Parliament calls to move away from the lowest price and start using all this European money in a strategic way to not only keep Europe going, but make sure Europe thrives. European public money should support our European businesses and help greening our economy. We should leverage it to stand up to the dominance of Big Tech and Trump by becoming technologically independent and as ample rapporteur, I specifically urge the Commission to follow up on the calls to make sure public money goes to quality jobs. Companies that do not respect labour rights and engage in union busting should always be excluded from bidding for public contracts. Public money should never fuel the race to the bottom. Thank you. **Nicolae ȘTEFĂNUȚĂ @Chair: Thank you. I now open the debate on behalf of the EPP. Mr. Christian Dolezal.”
"Buy European" provisions
“Thank you very much. Um, yeah. So we have known for years and you explained it very well. Again, recommender systems based on clicks and interaction push radicalization, hate and disinformation to the top of your timeline because that is what people react and click on the most and keeps us glued to our screens the longest. And by now, we also know these timelines are addictive. But instead of us users having control over what we see, online tech billionaires choose profit over people and democracy again and again. So to the panelists, do you agree we should stop recommender systems based on clicks and interaction and give users more control? And if so, what is your expert opinion on the recent guidelines of the commission where only for children? The Commission says recommender systems cannot only be based on engagement, but must include other factors too. Do you agree that this is too weak? Thank you.”
Recommender systems
“I welcome the introductory speech by the rapporteur that acknowledges the need for specific rules when it comes to algorithmic management for the entire labour market, and also acknowledging the AI isn't dealing with this. A moratorium, therefore, would absolutely be the wrong way forward and would leave other workers less protected than platform workers just because algorithmic management was introduced later in their sector. Humans are also intransparent, according to Professor Glauner. However, there is a difference when it comes to accountability and liability of a human versus a machine. And there's also a difference regarding scale. And that's exactly why bias in an AI system thinks. Think of Musk's grok as high risk. So I have some questions to first of all, for the JRC, which tools are being used for digital monitoring in the workplace, and is this done mostly with dedicated digital tools, or are we talking about built in capacities, for instance, Microsoft Office or collaboration platforms. Secondly, we've been focusing strongly on platform work in the warehouse sector, with Uber and Amazon as the two most visible examples. But in which sectors do you see the most rapid spread of the deployment of algorithmic management, and what is the evidence, for instance, regarding the care sector? And a lot of speakers are referencing the positive impact of AI, but there's also a risk of a statistical model defining the benchmark of how productive a worker should be. So how do we use avoid the use of algorithmic management to lead to a rat race setting up against each other?”
Artificial Intelligence
“Thank you, Commissioner colleagues. Um, it's pretty clear that the Trump administration and its tech bro cheer squad aren't fans of our digital rule book. But before the commission listens to the tech lobby and decides to change Europe's AI and privacy rules, let's do a little fact check. Ai to detect diseases and discover new medicines, perfectly allowed under European tech rules and not covered by the AI act. Ai to make production processes more sustainable and less wasteful. Allowed under European rules and not high risk under the AI act. Using AI in its and its outputs in research and innovation. Completely exempted from the AI act. And actually, we encourage all of this. Ensure some things are not allowed to AI companionship. Chatbots recommending you to commit suicide. No, that's not allowed under European tech rules and LinkedIn and meta using all your data to train their AI systems unless you opt out. But they're making it really hard. No, that's also not allowed under European tech rules, because in Europe we ensure that AI is safe and technology actually contributes to people's society and the environment while fostering innovation. So the question is, will the Commission be fooled by tech CEOs and their top lobbyist, Donald Trump? Or will the Commission stand up for European tech companies and the citizens of Europe? Because don't be fooled. The people who will benefit from slashing AI or privacy rules is big tech and not your promising, innovative EU companies. With clear and strong rules, Europe will create the best, most safe and most accurate AI in the world without being locked into systems that turn out to fail, steal or discriminate. Rules foster innovation. Thank you.”
Artificial Intelligence
“Thank you. Trump threatened us with tariffs if we refuse to withdraw our big tech legislation. A week later, the European Union slapped a €3 billion fine on Google. This is the kind of strong response I want to see at a time of great geostrategic instability. Companies who think they can make the law around the world. Google has quasi monopoly on the whole advertising system. They sell advertising on the basis of non-stop surveilling of your online behavior. Then, if you're sick, what sexual, what you like or what your preferences are, and they extract your data so as to establish your advertising priorities, Google uses this as pressure to exclude competitors. The whole system has been organized to their advantage in their auctions. You can they reach agreement between the auction or the of the auctioneer and the company, and therefore they can ensure to get the best price. This way enables them to shut out other competitors. If this continues, European competitors will never be able to offer fair advertising the basis of context rather than tracking. Unfortunately, in Europe it's clear this is a legal illegal misuse. Uh, an enormous portion of worldwide advertising budgets are disappearing to the deep pockets of Google's, rather than going to local sport clubs or whatever. This has to come to an end. We have to ensure that we have a free press and we can support local initiatives. It's important the commission intervene. In my view, we have to hit hard now and break up this advertising monopoly so as to ensure that our European citizens and businesses have a better and fairer alternative.”
Digital advertising
“Thank you very much chair and thanks to the Commission for this presentation. Yeah I'm quite surprised actually by where MPP stands right now because I've heard like from one side of Europe basically the site where the US is the calls for two things namely digital simplification and the postponement of the high risk AI. This is very clearly a call from Trump and big tech and that's now EPP's position. So okay I'm surprised about that and in general I'm really disappointed that we are rediscussing our tech loss because of the pressure of Trump and the big tech lobby because what I have heard from European companies and European businesses is that they want clarity and indeed we don't have the standards ready but we also envisioned in the European AI Act that if that wasn't the case the European Commission would chop chop get to work and make sure that we have the standards ready and then when we hear from the Commission when they started thinking about that it was last August that's a bit late in my opinion if you know that a year later we have to have them ready. So I think this is a self created problem that now is actually not helping European businesses who are looking for clarity and who want to work with the EU regulate regulation that we have and I'm really willing to work together to see what we can do to make it easier for businesses in the AI Act but let's be sensible innovation is not allowing companies to steal data it is not allowing companies to exploit all the resources we have. True innovation is choosing our European way which is the idea of the AI Act. We want to develop the safest privacy friendly and energy efficient technology in the world in Europe so that we can be competitive. We will never win on the exploitation basis of AI that is now spreading around the world and we should also make sure that we are not totally locked in into unsafe AI. So I want to know for especially from the EPP are you going to get take this opportunity now to rip the law apart like we've seen you do with the rules against child labor and chopping down the Amazon or are you going to work together with product democratic parties to make sure we have solid and clear rules without loopholes and make sure we clear the clean close these tech rules as soon as possible and to make sure that both our businesses and citizens are protected because if I look at the proposals right now these are only gonna help big tech companies. Thank you.”
Artificial Intelligence
“Thank you very much. Um, yeah, I'm I'm a bit surprised. Um, so I might have two questions because I think, um, the European Commission, um, explained really well that this legislation is not that difficult to comply to, uh, because basically, um, you just cannot sell ads anymore in the way you want. You cannot target me on the fact that I'm a lesbian anymore, but only based on my location. Um, I think that's quite nice. I'm quite happy with that. Um, and, um, it's it's almost feels a bit like it's a big lobby trick, uh, from meta to spread some sort of misinformation about, oh, this, this stupid law, because you just don't like it. Um, so, yeah, maybe my question is to, um, uh, you know, the European Commission can maybe explain it one more time in simple words. So to explain to meta, like how it works and maybe, uh, can meta maybe answer a bit more on, uh, how much money you're actually losing because of this, uh, law? Um, because, uh, political actors cannot, um, abuse your system anymore. Thank you.”
Digital advertising
“Thank you. Did you know that Chancellor Mertz went to Canada this summer to shoot polar bear cubs? No. Good. Because that means the Kremlin's latest disinformation campaign did not reach you. Why would Russia spread such a ridiculous story, you might ask? Well, it's easier to sway an election than to win a war. So undermining democratic European leaders is part of their playbook. And I'm happy that the Commission will work on mapping this kind of disinformation campaigns more efficiently. But when is the Commission finally taking action against the spread of disinformation? When is the Commission finally putting an end to the fact that we are all carrying addictive manipulation machines in our pockets? We need to ban addictive design features and divisive recommender systems to make the internet safe for everyone, minors and adults alike. And after their latest updates, generative AI models only produce more disinformation. And meanwhile, the commission is flirting with the idea of reopening the AI act. The only protection we have, Commissioner, only ambitious and decisive action, will protect both our citizens and our democracies.”
Disinformation & online freedoms
“Thank you very much dear colleagues dear fellow shadow rapporteurs do we want Elon Musk to remain fully in control over launching European satellites into space for me this is the central question in European space policy and therefore for the proposed EU space act. For my group the use of space for peaceful objectives is key. We have an important space sector in Europe that is important for our competitiveness. We support the EU space act setting up common rules on sustainability and safety and I therefore welcome the draft report in the presentation his suggestions start from a concern about European sovereignty that I fully share. I support the efforts to establish rules that apply to all players in the market by reducing a number of derogations and exemptions. I believe that the proposal for a one stop shop for SMEs is a good one. We should indeed have one set of rules for all players in the market also for space operators from third countries. SpaceX and other space operators from third countries can be active on our market if they abide by our rules. What is true for our environmental standards and digital rule book should also be true for space services. This is a general principle of the internal market that should be upheld. The rapporteur clearly points out why the unilateral recognition of equivalence will weaken the competitiveness of European operators. Let's face it the Commission's proposal is an invitation for coercion and a recipe for eternal vendor lock in. With SpaceX it's a lot of legacies to hand the keys of our space sector to Elon Musk. The limitation of the equivalence decision in time goes in the right direction but it's not enough in my view. I believe we should not have equivalence at all. International cooperation that is reciprocal and derogations are enough. US operators are afraid some rules might eventually apply to them. Luckily Giorgio Maloney is only one phone call away and we see efforts by the Italian government to kill the space act and they have been joined by Germany recently. I think we should not give into this pressure and therefore I look forward to working with the colleagues on a strong EU space act. Thank you.”
EU competences on space policy
“Thank you. Um, yes. Some of my questions weren't answered. So happy to do that. Um, I would find it strange, actually, that Amazon doesn't monitor workers because monitoring is really not a problem as such. It's the of course, becomes a problem when monitoring becomes excessive surveillance. Um, so I'm really curious, um, to get more clarification on the monitoring systems that, you know, wouldn't or wouldn't would or wouldn't be in place. So how do you know that workers do or do not meet productivity targets if they're not being monitored? Do they report orally to managers? Is the evaluation of worker performance based on data or not? And yeah, in general, I think if you talk about the productivity target being based on historical data, I think this is exactly what can contribute to a rat race. Um, if always the least productive workers are not retained, historical data evolves to ever higher productivity targets. And therefore, I would also repeat my question would you be willing to give transparency to workers and trade unions on what parameters are used for setting these targets? Thank you.”
Platform workers
“Thank you very much. I welcome the overall approach of the rapporteur as it starts from a concern about European sovereignty that I fully share. I concern that day by day is becoming more pressing and based on the previous exchange and the first shadow meeting, I believe that we have a strong basis for collaboration with the colleagues from the different political groups. I support the efforts to establish rules that apply to all players in the market, and have made proposals to go further in this direction around three priorities. First, the third country space operator should follow the same rules, and I therefore propose to delete the possibility of having an equivalence decision as an option for third country space operators to launch our satellites or otherwise operate on our market. With the derogation of emergency clauses and international agreements, enough options are foreseen for the transition towards European sovereignty. I believe there, I believe granting equivalence would incentivize from registering as an operator active on the EU market. There is no reciprocity guaranteed, and the instruments of equivalence decision risks makes us vulnerable to coercion. If SpaceX wants to keep launching our satellites, it needs to follow our rules. Secondly, exemptions and derogations should be limited. Safety requirements should be non-negotiable. We should focus on having a streamlined and less bureaucratic text for all operators. I propose to limit the exemption of application of the Space Act to defence purposes only, by defining this as exempting the space objects owned by member states.”
EU competences on space policy
“Thank you very much. Thank you so much for for this very comprehensive overview. Um, I think, uh, it sounds like, uh, there will have to be some decisions to be made on whether we listen to consumers and SMEs or to big tech and big business. So I hope you choose, uh, for the protection of, of consumers and SMEs personally. Um, we've already discussed, uh, quite broadly, the protection of minors, um, and what that could entail. And I see also that there's a lot of support for that. However, it's also clear in the overview that their support in general for for protection of consumers and really making sure that the unfair commercial practices lists are updated for the current time. Um, so I was wondering if you could maybe elaborate a bit more on, you know, if we have established that something is an unfair commercial practice, um, is it then even legally possible to, um, distinguish between adults and minors? Of course, considering minors, uh, may be more vulnerable for certain practices, but in general, I would like to call for any unfair commercial practice to be banned for everyone, and not only for minors. Uh, also, when it comes to simplification, if we have clear rules, that's always more simple. Thank you.”
EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices
“Thank you very much. Um, yeah. Also thank you to my colleague, but also as one of the shadow rapporteurs of the AI act, um, I worked a lot on this legislation, and I would really like to clarify that. In fact, the AI act does not regulate the use of AI in the workplace because the AI act works like a product safety regulation. The AI demands that systems with a high risk, for example on workers in recruitment are tested before you place them on the market. But it doesn't say anything about the use. And I would also like to remind everyone that calling for a moratorium on AI policy is the same line of the tech bros top lobbyists, namely the white House. But it's good to hear the acknowledgement that AI in the workplace is not a future prospect, but a reality today. Also, for everyone here in the room. When you accepted the latest update of the Microsoft Office suite, good chance you enabled your boss to have access to data on how fast you are typing or responding to emails, and to ensure that AI benefits workers, we need rules on transparency, data protection, human control, and social dialogue on the deployment and introduction of AI. New rights established by the Platform Work Directive should apply to all workers, and we should look at some areas that were not covered, such as algorithmic wage discrimination, which is a different remuneration offered for the exact same task based on data on or on how likely you are to accept work.”
Artificial Intelligence
“And lastly, um, I will put forward some amendments, uh, to look at the radicalization of young people. Um, in the Netherlands, there was out of a recent survey, we saw that a third of teenage boys think that Andrew Tate is a good role model and that indeed, um, beating up your girlfriend might be a good solution to put her back in her place. And I think that is one of the things that we should really be way more vigilant on. So we also came up with some ideas from the green site to make sure that that kind of radical, uh, content doesn't reach young people anymore and that, uh, they can have a bit more balanced view on what a healthy society looks like. I'm very much looking forward to working on this file, together with the other shadows and the rapporteur. And thanks so much also to the team for, uh, helping with coming up with more ideas to protect minors online.”
Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
“Thank you. Commissioner. Our European single market is often portrayed as just a set of rules. But that's far from the truth. Our single market is made up of European companies, big and small, who work every day to ensure Europe keeps going. And I'm looking forward to the one market roadmap. But let's be honest here. We can't deregulate our way to competitiveness and a stronger single market. We spent €250 billion on US cloud services each year. A large chunk of this is public money, and this means that we are strengthening American big tech companies and not our companies. We have to stop being naive, and one of the best ways to strengthen the single market is to buy European. A euro spent on European companies circulates through our economy instead of leaking out of it. It's positive to see that the Industrial Accelerator Act for the first time sets clear European preference criteria. But last time I checked, Japan or the US were not part of Europe, and it is clear Big Tech is worried. We all see the huge campaign spending of Amazon to Europe wash themselves, even at the Brussels station next to the platform from where our train to Strasbourg left. But I am looking forward to clear by European criteria for a stronger, more autonomous, more competitive Europe. And for our European companies. Thank you.”
"Buy European" provisions

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