Max von Thun
@maxvonthun.bsky.social
Europe Director @openmarkets.bsky.social. Former UK Parliamentary adviser and tech policy consultant. Pro-tech, anti-monopoly.
Reposted by Max von Thun
Europe’s failure to produce globally competitive tech firms should be attributed not to excessive regulation, but rather to weak enforcement, writes @maxvonthun.bsky.social. bit.ly/3Meln1z
Europe’s Tech Firms Need Regulation to Grow
Max von Thun explains why watering down legislation like the GDPR and the AI Act will only undermine digital sovereignty.
bit.ly
December 6, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Europe’s failure to produce globally competitive tech firms should be attributed not to excessive regulation, but rather to weak enforcement, writes @maxvonthun.bsky.social. bit.ly/3Meln1z
Reposted by Max von Thun
The 28-point plan was dead on arrival. Ukraine can't accept it, Trump doesn't have the cards to force them since he's ended most US assistance to them, and Russia won't accept adjustments.
Yet for the past two weeks, Europeans have again had to scramble to go along with a charade.
Yet for the past two weeks, Europeans have again had to scramble to go along with a charade.
Europe plays along as phony peace process for Ukraine continues
With the 28-point plan, European leaders have yet again been left as spectators on the sidelines as Washington and Moscow decide the fate of this continent.
davekeating.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:36 AM
The 28-point plan was dead on arrival. Ukraine can't accept it, Trump doesn't have the cards to force them since he's ended most US assistance to them, and Russia won't accept adjustments.
Yet for the past two weeks, Europeans have again had to scramble to go along with a charade.
Yet for the past two weeks, Europeans have again had to scramble to go along with a charade.
Reposted by Max von Thun
Decline and Fall
A new post from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just a couple hours after President Trump said he wouldn’t have wanted a second strike on alleged narco boats and that Hegseth said he didn’t order second strikes.
December 1, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Decline and Fall
Couldn't agree more with this point and article by @martinsandbu.ft.com
The EU has a ready-made tool – the Anti-Coercion Instrument – designed precisely for these situations. Next time the U.S. threatens tariffs on Europe, the EU should use the ACI to target Big Tech.
www.ft.com/content/89f1...
The EU has a ready-made tool – the Anti-Coercion Instrument – designed precisely for these situations. Next time the U.S. threatens tariffs on Europe, the EU should use the ACI to target Big Tech.
www.ft.com/content/89f1...
December 1, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Couldn't agree more with this point and article by @martinsandbu.ft.com
The EU has a ready-made tool – the Anti-Coercion Instrument – designed precisely for these situations. Next time the U.S. threatens tariffs on Europe, the EU should use the ACI to target Big Tech.
www.ft.com/content/89f1...
The EU has a ready-made tool – the Anti-Coercion Instrument – designed precisely for these situations. Next time the U.S. threatens tariffs on Europe, the EU should use the ACI to target Big Tech.
www.ft.com/content/89f1...
Reposted by Max von Thun
"Billionaires, tech titans and their opponents are amassing multimillion-dollar war chests for a chaotic, bruising battle over AI regulation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections."
Tech Titans Amass Multimillion-Dollar War Chests to Fight AI Regulation
Some are battling state AI laws and threatening to punish candidates who oppose rapid deployment of the technology.
www.wsj.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:32 PM
"Billionaires, tech titans and their opponents are amassing multimillion-dollar war chests for a chaotic, bruising battle over AI regulation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections."
“Yes, an AI system might remix and recycle our knowledge in interesting ways,” Riley writes. “But that’s all it will be able to do. It will be forever trapped in the vocabulary we’ve encoded in our data and trained it upon — a dead-metaphor machine.”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Large Language Models Will Never Be Intelligent, Expert Says
The AI industry is staking its future on language models. But LLMs, an expert argues, are fundamentally incapable of being intelligent.
futurism.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:49 AM
“Yes, an AI system might remix and recycle our knowledge in interesting ways,” Riley writes. “But that’s all it will be able to do. It will be forever trapped in the vocabulary we’ve encoded in our data and trained it upon — a dead-metaphor machine.”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Reposted by Max von Thun
There is never any daylight between the positions of Russia and JD Vance.
November 26, 2025 at 12:31 PM
There is never any daylight between the positions of Russia and JD Vance.
Reposted by Max von Thun
Heres steve witkoff helping the Russians, get a deal with Donald Trump
November 26, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Heres steve witkoff helping the Russians, get a deal with Donald Trump
Reposted by Max von Thun
same
Still have yet to see AI make my life better in any way
November 26, 2025 at 12:39 PM
same
“There is a long tradition of great powers in Europe making deals over the heads of smaller countries, leading to terrible suffering. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact…brought us World War II. The Yalta agreement gave us the Cold War. The Witkoff-Dmitriev pact…will fit right into that tradition.”
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace
Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
www.theatlantic.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:40 PM
“There is a long tradition of great powers in Europe making deals over the heads of smaller countries, leading to terrible suffering. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact…brought us World War II. The Yalta agreement gave us the Cold War. The Witkoff-Dmitriev pact…will fit right into that tradition.”
Reposted by Max von Thun
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has seen her favourability drop 32 points among Labour members since her plans for asylum policy reform were announced
Cabinet rankings: Mahmood sees sharp drop in approval among Labour members – LabourList
Shabana Mahmood’s approval among Labour members has plummeted since her announcement on reform of asylum policy, exclusive polling for LabourList has revealed. The poll, conducted…
labourlist.org
November 22, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has seen her favourability drop 32 points among Labour members since her plans for asylum policy reform were announced
Reposted by Max von Thun
Hear me out… is there a way Ukraine can make Mamdani their ambassador to the United States?
November 21, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Hear me out… is there a way Ukraine can make Mamdani their ambassador to the United States?
Reposted by Max von Thun
We don’t need another delegation of European leaders flying off to Washington to kiss Trump’s ring now. We need them to get on the train to Kyiv and stand shoulder to shoulder with Zelenskyy.
November 21, 2025 at 7:39 PM
We don’t need another delegation of European leaders flying off to Washington to kiss Trump’s ring now. We need them to get on the train to Kyiv and stand shoulder to shoulder with Zelenskyy.
Reposted by Max von Thun
Reposted by Max von Thun
was already feeling insane from the Trump/Mamdani meeting but I now worry that my brain chemistry will simply never be the same
He said "Amen" straight into the drop
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
November 21, 2025 at 9:39 PM
was already feeling insane from the Trump/Mamdani meeting but I now worry that my brain chemistry will simply never be the same
Reposted by Max von Thun
I just think Trump understands Mamdani is not someone he wants to tangle with. Too smart, too charismatic, too New York, too straightforward, too young. Easier targets elsewhere, like everyone who works for him and most of Congress. (1/2)
November 21, 2025 at 10:35 PM
I just think Trump understands Mamdani is not someone he wants to tangle with. Too smart, too charismatic, too New York, too straightforward, too young. Easier targets elsewhere, like everyone who works for him and most of Congress. (1/2)
Reposted by Max von Thun
1/ What a Russian breaking of the ceasefire will look like, step by step.
There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close.
So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.
There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close.
So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.
November 21, 2025 at 2:23 PM
1/ What a Russian breaking of the ceasefire will look like, step by step.
There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close.
So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.
There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close.
So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.
This is a must-read analysis of the Trump administration's disgraceful, Kremlin-authored plot to sell Ukraine down the river and rehabilitate Putin's Russia as a respectable economic and political actor.
Europe cannot be complicit in this betrayal.
Europe cannot be complicit in this betrayal.
Some notable things in what's being called the "Trump peace plan" but which could not have been more clearly written in Moscow if it came with a 2 for 1 deal on tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet. 🧵
November 21, 2025 at 12:42 PM
This is a must-read analysis of the Trump administration's disgraceful, Kremlin-authored plot to sell Ukraine down the river and rehabilitate Putin's Russia as a respectable economic and political actor.
Europe cannot be complicit in this betrayal.
Europe cannot be complicit in this betrayal.
Reposted by Max von Thun
A judge ruled Meta does not have a monopoly, solidifying the tech giant’s $1.5 trillion future.
Judge rules Meta doesn't have a social media monopoly
It's the latest decision against the government's push to limit the size of Big Tech.
politico.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM
A judge ruled Meta does not have a monopoly, solidifying the tech giant’s $1.5 trillion future.
Reposted by Max von Thun
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
Reposted by Max von Thun
“Tech billionaire Peter Thiel's hedge fund has sold off its entire stake in Nvidia during the third quarter, a regulatory filing showed, intensifying worries of an artificial intelligence bubble.” www.reuters.com/business/med...
www.reuters.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:20 AM
“Tech billionaire Peter Thiel's hedge fund has sold off its entire stake in Nvidia during the third quarter, a regulatory filing showed, intensifying worries of an artificial intelligence bubble.” www.reuters.com/business/med...
Very promising news as the European Commission moves towards bringing Big Tech’s cloud arms under the Digital Markets Act, as long called for by @openmarkets.bsky.social.
Cloud alternatives won’t take off until we loosen the hyperscalers’ chokehold on the market.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Cloud alternatives won’t take off until we loosen the hyperscalers’ chokehold on the market.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
EU Considers Cracking Down on Big Tech's Cloud Power
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corp.’s Azure, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud risk being dragged into the scope of the European Union’s crackdown on Big Tech as antitrust watchdogs prepare to study t...
www.bloomberg.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Very promising news as the European Commission moves towards bringing Big Tech’s cloud arms under the Digital Markets Act, as long called for by @openmarkets.bsky.social.
Cloud alternatives won’t take off until we loosen the hyperscalers’ chokehold on the market.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Cloud alternatives won’t take off until we loosen the hyperscalers’ chokehold on the market.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Max von Thun
“The Commission must reject this paltry offer and force Google to break up its adtech monopoly once and for all.”
Our response to Google's wholly insufficient remedies for its adtech conflicts of interest: www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
Our response to Google's wholly insufficient remedies for its adtech conflicts of interest: www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
November 17, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“The Commission must reject this paltry offer and force Google to break up its adtech monopoly once and for all.”
Our response to Google's wholly insufficient remedies for its adtech conflicts of interest: www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
Our response to Google's wholly insufficient remedies for its adtech conflicts of interest: www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
Reposted by Max von Thun
"The fact that JD Vance has openly cited Curtis Yarvin as an inspiration and that Thiel is the person most responsible for creating Vance as a politician should be viewed as a national emergency."
My comments to @thorbenson.bsky.social
madness.ghost.io/we-need-to-t...
My comments to @thorbenson.bsky.social
madness.ghost.io/we-need-to-t...
We need to talk about JD
Not nearly enough news coverage has focused on JD Vance's influences and his extreme views.
madness.ghost.io
November 17, 2025 at 5:37 PM
"The fact that JD Vance has openly cited Curtis Yarvin as an inspiration and that Thiel is the person most responsible for creating Vance as a politician should be viewed as a national emergency."
My comments to @thorbenson.bsky.social
madness.ghost.io/we-need-to-t...
My comments to @thorbenson.bsky.social
madness.ghost.io/we-need-to-t...
The UK Labour Party doing an incredible job - like many other centrist parties - at alienating their natural progressive base while failing to win over voters that don’t buy their performative anti-immigrant schtick.
Those who hold more restrictive views on refugees are more likely to see Labour as pro-immigration, while those who hold more liberal views tend to see Labour as anti-immigration
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
November 17, 2025 at 5:13 PM
The UK Labour Party doing an incredible job - like many other centrist parties - at alienating their natural progressive base while failing to win over voters that don’t buy their performative anti-immigrant schtick.