TechCrunch — 23/08/2026

A computer should never make decisions significantly affecting humans. This is the foundation principle of many data protection laws across the globe. However, its implementation has sometimes proven flawed; consider how banks frequently rely on algorithms to determine credit rates. A recent decision by the Dutch Data Protection Authority, acting as the leading supervisory authority against Uber, appears to be strengthening the principle behind Article 22 of the GDPR. The regulator fined Uber for deactivating driver accounts through an automated process without sufficient warning or human oversight. This case reminds us that while AI is developing at full-speed, important decision-making should always rely on humans.

A Few Thoughts on Cryptographic Engineering — 14/08/2026

This truly fascinating take on what the current developments in IT security mean for the eternal discussion on government-mandated backdoors shows how warped the entire idea (and the related debate around chat control) actually is. Our systems are becoming too secure for the public good! Instead of insisting on subterfuge access to systems that are supposed to be trustworthy, governments should concentrate on working within this new reality.

heise medien — 14/08/2026

Falls euch das 'Why Johnny Still, Still Can’t Encrypt' Paper von 2015 bekannt ist, so wird der folgende Artikel nicht überraschend sein. Wieder einmal geht es um eine kryptographisch sehr gute Lösung, welche aber mangels mangels nutzergerechter Interfaces und ausreichender Aufklärung nicht die erzielte Lösung erreicht. Leider werden immer wieder die User außen vor gelassen, wenn es darum geht, neue und privatsphärenfreundliche Lösungen einzusetzen.

Mobile Europe — 12/08/2026

Migrating from one supplier to another is certainly not easy. In this case, the change may be prompted either by the potential future European ban or by an ICT risk assessment alone. Telecom operators constitute critical infrastructure, so a kill switch would have devastating consequences. Unsurprisingly, a study by the operators' lobby found that the replacement costs in the event of a ban could be up to four times higher than EU estimates. However, given China's significant potential for economic retaliation, it seems unlikely that the EU Commission will succeed in imposing a ban across all countries.

The Verge — 27/07/2026

The article is interesting from a privacy perspective for three main reasons. Smart glasses shift the privacy burden onto bystanders who never consented to being recorded, which is a fundamentally different kind of violation than most consumer tech. Meta's protections have been laughably thin, just an LED light, putting the responsibility on random people in public rather than the product itself. And given Meta's history of data exploitation, its privacy promises are structurally hard to believe, raising the question of whether meaningful change will ever come voluntarily or only through outside pressure.