Max von Thun
@maxvonthun.bsky.social
Europe Director @openmarkets.bsky.social. Former UK Parliamentary adviser and tech policy consultant. Pro-tech, anti-monopoly.
Proof (if we needed it) that algorithmic amplification is dramatically accelerating, and perhaps even driving, the unravelling of our democracies.
Fixing the problem means tackling the algorithms themselves, not just trying - and failing - to address the harms they cause.
on.ft.com/49LNvCy
Fixing the problem means tackling the algorithms themselves, not just trying - and failing - to address the harms they cause.
on.ft.com/49LNvCy
November 7, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Proof (if we needed it) that algorithmic amplification is dramatically accelerating, and perhaps even driving, the unravelling of our democracies.
Fixing the problem means tackling the algorithms themselves, not just trying - and failing - to address the harms they cause.
on.ft.com/49LNvCy
Fixing the problem means tackling the algorithms themselves, not just trying - and failing - to address the harms they cause.
on.ft.com/49LNvCy
brb while I add “legionnaire of the Antichrist” to my CV
October 10, 2025 at 11:40 AM
brb while I add “legionnaire of the Antichrist” to my CV
OpenAI following in the venerable tradition of aspiring monopolists complaining about today's monopolies to regulators – just as Google supported antitrust action against Microsoft in the early 2000s.
They aren't wrong though – competition enforcers are asleep at the wheel when it comes to AI.
They aren't wrong though – competition enforcers are asleep at the wheel when it comes to AI.
October 10, 2025 at 10:31 AM
OpenAI following in the venerable tradition of aspiring monopolists complaining about today's monopolies to regulators – just as Google supported antitrust action against Microsoft in the early 2000s.
They aren't wrong though – competition enforcers are asleep at the wheel when it comes to AI.
They aren't wrong though – competition enforcers are asleep at the wheel when it comes to AI.
One of the best things I’ve read on the existential threat posed by the alliance between far-right populists and the tech broligarchy.
Instead of standing up for the citizens that elected them, politicians are hoodwinked by the tech bros flimsy promises of technological utopia.
on.ft.com/3WbdPy4
Instead of standing up for the citizens that elected them, politicians are hoodwinked by the tech bros flimsy promises of technological utopia.
on.ft.com/3WbdPy4
September 27, 2025 at 9:08 AM
One of the best things I’ve read on the existential threat posed by the alliance between far-right populists and the tech broligarchy.
Instead of standing up for the citizens that elected them, politicians are hoodwinked by the tech bros flimsy promises of technological utopia.
on.ft.com/3WbdPy4
Instead of standing up for the citizens that elected them, politicians are hoodwinked by the tech bros flimsy promises of technological utopia.
on.ft.com/3WbdPy4
While it's disappointing that the Commission didn't announce a structural remedy today, it's encouraging to see that it's still very much on the table.
September 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
While it's disappointing that the Commission didn't announce a structural remedy today, it's encouraging to see that it's still very much on the table.
Unlike the startup-heavy dot-com bubble, today's AI hype train is being driven by tech monopolies that are both fuelling the hype and positioning themselves to seize all the rewards. On the flip side, if/when things go wrong, we'll all know who to blame.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
August 11, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Unlike the startup-heavy dot-com bubble, today's AI hype train is being driven by tech monopolies that are both fuelling the hype and positioning themselves to seize all the rewards. On the flip side, if/when things go wrong, we'll all know who to blame.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
Good to see Democrats in the U.S. Congress coming out in support of EU tech regulation – in this instance the DSA – and refuting the Republicans' (poorly-evidenced) claims about nefarious "foreign censorship".
democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
July 31, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Good to see Democrats in the U.S. Congress coming out in support of EU tech regulation – in this instance the DSA – and refuting the Republicans' (poorly-evidenced) claims about nefarious "foreign censorship".
democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
July 30, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This is spot on by @alemanno.bsky.social.
The right, and only, response to today’s existential threats is deeper and faster European integration grounded in liberal democratic values. Not the xenophobic, deregulatory path Europe’s leaders are pursuing instead.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The right, and only, response to today’s existential threats is deeper and faster European integration grounded in liberal democratic values. Not the xenophobic, deregulatory path Europe’s leaders are pursuing instead.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
June 16, 2025 at 8:09 AM
This is spot on by @alemanno.bsky.social.
The right, and only, response to today’s existential threats is deeper and faster European integration grounded in liberal democratic values. Not the xenophobic, deregulatory path Europe’s leaders are pursuing instead.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The right, and only, response to today’s existential threats is deeper and faster European integration grounded in liberal democratic values. Not the xenophobic, deregulatory path Europe’s leaders are pursuing instead.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This is a superb piece by Zephyr Teachout in the @thenation.com on the economic, political and societal risks stemming from our dependence on Big Tech's cloud infrastructure, drawing on @openmarkets.bsky.social recent report "Engineering the Cloud Commons".
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
June 12, 2025 at 12:12 PM
This is a superb piece by Zephyr Teachout in the @thenation.com on the economic, political and societal risks stemming from our dependence on Big Tech's cloud infrastructure, drawing on @openmarkets.bsky.social recent report "Engineering the Cloud Commons".
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
If anything is a "virus" it's rapacious American tech corporations that extract and destroy value wherever they operate, while doing everything in their power to prevent governments from taxing their monopoly rents.
May 12, 2025 at 8:44 AM
If anything is a "virus" it's rapacious American tech corporations that extract and destroy value wherever they operate, while doing everything in their power to prevent governments from taxing their monopoly rents.
It's been obvious for a while now that Palantir are bad, but the mask has well and truly slipped. As the ad makes clear, Palantir is now an official arm of the far-right US state, and any foreign government using their services should be reevaluating immediately.
H/T @j2bryson.bsky.social
H/T @j2bryson.bsky.social
April 16, 2025 at 12:06 PM
It's been obvious for a while now that Palantir are bad, but the mask has well and truly slipped. As the ad makes clear, Palantir is now an official arm of the far-right US state, and any foreign government using their services should be reevaluating immediately.
H/T @j2bryson.bsky.social
H/T @j2bryson.bsky.social
The tone might be slightly tongue-in-cheek, but this pithily articulates some important truths on how decentralised markets protect democracy from oligarchic capture, and why Europe should therefore not be aspiring to create its own tech monopolies.
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
April 11, 2025 at 10:23 AM
The tone might be slightly tongue-in-cheek, but this pithily articulates some important truths on how decentralised markets protect democracy from oligarchic capture, and why Europe should therefore not be aspiring to create its own tech monopolies.
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
This story by @politico.com highlights the futility of giving in to Trump's demands in the hopes of being left alone, whether the demand is buying more American gas or regulating Big Tech. Brussels seems to be getting the message, London not so much.
pro.politico.eu/news/196524
pro.politico.eu/news/196524
April 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM
This story by @politico.com highlights the futility of giving in to Trump's demands in the hopes of being left alone, whether the demand is buying more American gas or regulating Big Tech. Brussels seems to be getting the message, London not so much.
pro.politico.eu/news/196524
pro.politico.eu/news/196524
For those who still think the EU can and should find a way to work with the current US government - this is the state of their understanding of the European Project.
March 14, 2025 at 10:52 AM
For those who still think the EU can and should find a way to work with the current US government - this is the state of their understanding of the European Project.
🚨 New publication alert 🚨
Europe needs to double down, not back down in response to brazen efforts by Big Tech and the US government to overthrow its digital sovereignty. In a new report by @openmarkets.bsky.social, @epc-official.bsky.social and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, we set out how.
1/5 🧵
Europe needs to double down, not back down in response to brazen efforts by Big Tech and the US government to overthrow its digital sovereignty. In a new report by @openmarkets.bsky.social, @epc-official.bsky.social and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, we set out how.
1/5 🧵
February 28, 2025 at 10:32 AM
🚨 New publication alert 🚨
Europe needs to double down, not back down in response to brazen efforts by Big Tech and the US government to overthrow its digital sovereignty. In a new report by @openmarkets.bsky.social, @epc-official.bsky.social and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, we set out how.
1/5 🧵
Europe needs to double down, not back down in response to brazen efforts by Big Tech and the US government to overthrow its digital sovereignty. In a new report by @openmarkets.bsky.social, @epc-official.bsky.social and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, we set out how.
1/5 🧵
February 27, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Fascinating interview with Arm CEO Rene Haas, who acknowledges that regulators “got it right” when they blocked Nvidia’s takeover attempt in 2022. Arm’s market cap has since exploded from $40 billion to $175 billion.
Antitrust enforcement is good for innovation.
on.ft.com/4hNB0aA
Antitrust enforcement is good for innovation.
on.ft.com/4hNB0aA
February 10, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Fascinating interview with Arm CEO Rene Haas, who acknowledges that regulators “got it right” when they blocked Nvidia’s takeover attempt in 2022. Arm’s market cap has since exploded from $40 billion to $175 billion.
Antitrust enforcement is good for innovation.
on.ft.com/4hNB0aA
Antitrust enforcement is good for innovation.
on.ft.com/4hNB0aA
I'm quoted in this insightful piece in the @thenation.com on Elon Musk & Big Tech's growing political interference in Europe. As I argue, firm resolve – not appeasement – is the only viable strategy for the EU.
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
February 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
I'm quoted in this insightful piece in the @thenation.com on Elon Musk & Big Tech's growing political interference in Europe. As I argue, firm resolve – not appeasement – is the only viable strategy for the EU.
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
www.thenation.com/article/worl...
Financiers that expected a merger free-for-all under Trump are now nostalgic for Biden and Lina Khan because Trump is actually delivering on his destructive economic agenda.
Something about leopards eating people’s faces.
on.ft.com/3WPJ0js
Something about leopards eating people’s faces.
on.ft.com/3WPJ0js
February 7, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Financiers that expected a merger free-for-all under Trump are now nostalgic for Biden and Lina Khan because Trump is actually delivering on his destructive economic agenda.
Something about leopards eating people’s faces.
on.ft.com/3WPJ0js
Something about leopards eating people’s faces.
on.ft.com/3WPJ0js
This point from Lina Khan's excellent op-ed on competition in AI can't be repeated enough, given how susceptible policymakers are to Big Tech's innovation claims. Market concentration and centralisation are not and never have been a recipe for disruptive innovation.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/o...
February 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM
This point from Lina Khan's excellent op-ed on competition in AI can't be repeated enough, given how susceptible policymakers are to Big Tech's innovation claims. Market concentration and centralisation are not and never have been a recipe for disruptive innovation.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/o...
I shared some thoughts with the Guardian about the UK Labour government's shocking decision to appoint a former Amazon executive as chair of the CMA.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
January 22, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I shared some thoughts with the Guardian about the UK Labour government's shocking decision to appoint a former Amazon executive as chair of the CMA.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Young people find little meaning in the growing number of hours they spend online, but feel powerless to act otherwise – because that's how addiction works. Just one depressing data point among others in this (as always) insightful piece by @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social on today's loneliness epidemic.
January 18, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Young people find little meaning in the growing number of hours they spend online, but feel powerless to act otherwise – because that's how addiction works. Just one depressing data point among others in this (as always) insightful piece by @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social on today's loneliness epidemic.
This is a key reason for Zuckerberg’s almost comically eager prostration before Trump.
It isn’t merely that he’s hoping to gain something from his deference, although that’s part of it - he also knows that Trump has a very convenient way of hitting his business if he doesn’t play ball.
It isn’t merely that he’s hoping to gain something from his deference, although that’s part of it - he also knows that Trump has a very convenient way of hitting his business if he doesn’t play ball.
January 12, 2025 at 8:55 PM
This is a key reason for Zuckerberg’s almost comically eager prostration before Trump.
It isn’t merely that he’s hoping to gain something from his deference, although that’s part of it - he also knows that Trump has a very convenient way of hitting his business if he doesn’t play ball.
It isn’t merely that he’s hoping to gain something from his deference, although that’s part of it - he also knows that Trump has a very convenient way of hitting his business if he doesn’t play ball.
This is a tour de force by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social on the accelerating fusion of political authoritarianism, new age superstition and conspiratorial thinking, united in their rejection of rational thought, empirical evidence and democratic transparency.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
January 10, 2025 at 11:03 AM
This is a tour de force by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social on the accelerating fusion of political authoritarianism, new age superstition and conspiratorial thinking, united in their rejection of rational thought, empirical evidence and democratic transparency.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...