Gently but continuously nudging:) Thanks Antonella!

@cr0ft0n.bsky.social and the rest of the @lighthousereports.com team for sure

Thanks to @lydiaemman.bsky.social @billgoodwin.bsky.social, Sebastian Jlovig Skelton, @annskaja.bsky.social, @krisshrishak.bsky.social @nunomoniz.bsky.social @svaroschi.bsky.social @krzysztofsmiszek.bsky.social and the team at the editing and visual teams behing these stories.

Despite reassurances, EU Parliament member @saskiabricmont.bsky.social said "it remains very complex for MEPs to fulfill their monitoring task and fully assess the risks associated with the use of AI-based systems by the agency." wearesolomon.com/el/mag/forma...

"Interactions [with private actors such as Thorn] point towards a potentially dangerous nexus of conflicted interests that could circumvent important democratic safeguards designed to protect civil liberties", commented @signal.org's @udbhav-tiwari.bsky.social. netzpolitik.org/2025/hungrig...

With @balkanizator.bsky.social and @stavinoha.bsky.social, and thanks to support from @globalfreemedia.bsky.social / @lighthousereports.com, we reveal new details about the agency's plans to use image classifiers and facial recognition, partnering with private actors wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...

A big thank you to the experts+editors that supported this two years long effort: @annskaja.bsky.social @krisshrishak.bsky.social @lydiaemman.bsky.social @billgoodwin.bsky.social @nunomoniz.bsky.social @article19.bsky.social @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social and Seb. Klovig Skelton from CW.

Based on internal documents obtained from Europol and analyzed by data protection and AI experts, this investigation raises serious concerns about the implications of the agency’s program on people’s privacy and the lack of solid oversight in the development of AI models.

@eff.org @echo-pbreyer.digitalcourage.social.ap.brid.gy @saskiabricmont.bsky.social @krzysztofsmiszek.bsky.social @alexandrageese.bsky.social

4 - While Microsoft analysts now sit at the core of the EU intelligence and criminal hub and Europol's budget is set to double in the next EU 7-year budget, its close links with the tech sector and its resistance to scrutiny, raise multiple questions, according to MEPS and civil society groups.

3 - One chapter looks at the ubiquitous Cellebrite, the Israeli tech giant whose phone extraction and data analysis tools are behind much of today's police operations, including at Europol. It's ethics body appears as strictly embedded with the US and Israeli military apparatus. -->

2. We are able to reveal the private companies that took part in the two first editions of the event, their connections with Europol and the surveillance implications of the tools they pitched to the agency: robotics systems, network analysis, advanced biometric and phone hacking products. -->