iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/10/2026

I should be sleeping but instead I'm listening to this excellent #jazz album I recently discovered: *Black Classical Music from Yussef Dayes* Love it, but I don't even know if people would classify it as jazz. Perhaps acid jazz?

Screenshot of album cover of Black Classical Music showing a young black person with an afro in a white t-shirt in front of green plants.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/10/2026

"More than a dozen #EU countries - from #Austria, #Spain, #Sweden to #France and #Poland - have reintroduced and maintain border checks despite no threat justifying those controls. As the guardian of the Treaties, the @EUCommission should have stopped these […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Map of Europe made by The Good Lobby that shows which EU countries maintain "temporary" - not-to-temporary border controls despite being part of the border-free Schengen area.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

I'm sitting in one of the fullest European Parliament hearings I've ever seen: it's about the infamous proposed Cloud and #AI Development Act #CADA and it's a huge "we need to build build build #datacentres", #gigafactories and farring #unicorns. And I'm like 😭 Let's see if I get speaking time. :)

Photo of full European parliament room with politicians sittings on the panel.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

#PrivacyCamp26 is almost over and I loved it, again! Special mention to those on the Fedi who financially supported this event, in particular @nextcloud, @flokinet, and the @EDPS. Thank you.

Photo of a stage with two people with mics in front of a large Privacy Camp 26 banner that says "Thank YOU!"

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

By now I was really unsure and started manually comparing this man's face with Infantino pics. I don't know these people very well, so surely I could be mistaken? One more test: I asked the Gemini thing to tell me who was sitting next to Merkel at this […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Gemini reply claiming the person sitting next to Merkel is Theo Waigel, former German fiance minister, and a person with zero likeness to the man next to her. The machine goes on with a bio of Waigel.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

The stochastic parroting software seemed so certain of itself that I started to doubt myself. But why would Merkel invite someone like *him* and seat him next to her? So I pressed #Gemini and asked "Are you sure? Couldn't this be someone else?" And here is what the non-intelligent BS machine said:

Gemini screenshot saying "There is no mistaking his specific facial features, his completely bald head, heavy jawline, and uniquely thick, expressive eyebrows are highly recognisable." The AI also said his dress would give it away (dark suit).

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

So, I cropped a still image from the video and fed it to Google search (#Gemini?) #AI. Here is what it told me with absolute certainty:

Screenshot from Google Gemini asking who the man in the picture was. Gemini answers "This man is Gianni Infantino," plus some details about the Fifa boss.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

No one who knows me will be surprised that it's exceeding my rare that I play around with #AI stuff. Tonight I felt like it and used a real task that I wanted solved. Oh my, here we go: 🫣 I had just watched @sarahbosetti's brilliant laudatory speech to […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Photo of three people sitting in a front row. To the right is Angela Merkel, next to her two men in back suits whose names I did not know.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

So proud of my city today: Over 60,000 people in #Brussels came out on the streets today to protest the Belgian government's climate inaction. #ClimateCrisis #MarchePourLeClimat #Bruxelles #Brussel #ClimaatCoalitie

Photo with protestors marching down Rue de la Loi in Brussels. Above the street, activists have put up large yellow banners that read "We won't forget this summer" and "We won't forgive their silence".

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

This is one of the dumbest fediverse server rules I have seen. Equating politics and religion and discouraging people to speak up about injustice because it might make others feel uncomfortable ("plaster it in other people's faces") is such a stupidly […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Rule 8 of a Belgium-based Mastodon server: "Politics and religion is tolerated but discouraged. Please us a Content Warning if you do post them. Whatever your political or religious view may be is your concern but we'd appreciate if if you wouldn't us this platform to plaster it in other people's faces."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

TIL that while the .eu TLD registrar #EUrid is technically a non-profit org, it is very much dominated by #business interests. Would EUrid roll over US #sanctions and block domain names or would they resist? 🤔

List of EUrid members including Business Europe, eCommerce Europe, IAB Europe and SME United. With text describing how members have the power to sack the Board etc.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

Meanwhile, a Polish minister asks the @EUCommission to impose a fine against #Meta of ridiculously low €250 million. Maybe he forgot one or two zeros there? 🤦

Tweet by Krzysztof Gawkowski in Polish which reads machine-translated to English: "Digital platforms must be fully responsible for their actions and therefore I have applied for a penalty of one billion zlotys on the Finish Line. After analyzing the materials, including those received from Meta, as well as subsequent media reports about the lack of control over the published content, I have just sent the European Commission a formal request to punish the platform with an amount of 250 million euros. Inaction and ineffectiveness in combating advertising and fraudulent content harmful to Poles will not be tolerated. I expect the European Commission to quickly carry out the proceedings and impose a penalty. There's more to the evidence. I also call on the Meta to immediately introduce effective tools to eliminate scam, fake advertising and promote illegal applications. The wild west on the platform has to stop."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026

This morning, Swiss public TV ( @3sat ) invited #demography researcher #PaulMorland on the show who explained calmly and with scientific precision that it's completely "reasonable" for people to prefer their countries to "belong to their ancestors and […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Paul Morland speaks on 3sat. Man in a blue suit sitting and talking in front of a TV interviewer and an invited audience in a 3sat talkshow.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/07/2026

This is the reason why #Apple is withholding features or products from the #EU market and pretending the #DMA is the cause: Apple expects their fanboys will do the #lobbying and pressuring for them and that's an ugly strategy. #DigitalMarketsAct #BigTech #competition

Financial Times article text: "The dispute triggered a fierce public backlash against the commission, with European officials reporting hundreds of emails from consumers accusing Brussels of depriving Europeans of a new technology. One EU official said that a commission spokesperson had received a stream of abusive messages, including several death threats."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/06/2026

Why do I hate this event already? I mean imagine someone suggested that we needed to "achieve a balance" between the fundamental right to #life and "innovation." Sorry mate, you gotta die now because we must increase competitiveness. That would be nuts and […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Screenshot from event programme: "Roundtable discussion on achieving a balance between privacy, interoperability and innovation in the digital payments landscape."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026

When did men in Western countries stop wearing #hats and why? How many #jobs were lost in the hat #industry and how many were created in #shampoo factories and barber shops because once visible hair became a thing, it needed attending to? I have so many questions.

Douglas Fairbanks in 1918 speaking to a large crowd of people wearing hat styles ranging from the fedora to the bowler.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026

This week I read #CADA, the #EU's newly proposed tech industry magic boost law in full for the first time and here's my humble conclusion:

The Batman slaps Superman meme where Superman is labelled "EU Commission" and says "I propose a new law called the EU Cloud and AI Developm..." and Batman slaps him and shouts "There is no such thing as the cloud!"

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026

#MarkRutte peddling more lies and licking boots in the #WhiteHouse today. He claims with a straight face that #Iran was just about to have nuclear weapons and that it's so fantastic what #Trump did there. What a disgrace.

Mark Rutte and Donald Trump sitting in the White House on golden chairs in front of a golden fireplace.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/06/2026

Lincoln: #Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people! European tech CEOs: The EU must better serve our needs! We want to craft policy for ourselves. 🥂 🤑 #lobbying #industry #EUpolicy

Screenshot of article: "European tech CEOs want direct line to craft EU policy": BRUSSELS — A group of European tech CEOs wants the ear of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to speed up policymaking to the benefit of the bloc’s industrial leaders. “You cannot make very complex policies and then say we're going to simplify. It's a lot better if you do the right policy in the first place,” Fouquet, CEO of Dutch chips giant ASML, told reporters Monday, echoing a message he gave in an exclusive interview with POLITICO last month. Fouquet, together with the heads of aerospace giant Airbus, telecoms giant Ericsson and Al pioneer Mistral, met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to press the EU to cut more red tape, rethink merger rules and bet on homegrown champions against the us. It is part of a new standing dialogue called the European Tech Creators, which includes heavyweights Airbus, ASML, Ericsson, Mistral, Nokia, SAP and Siemens. The group wants the EU institutions to better serve their needs — much like the entente between government and industry seen in competing regions like the United States and China."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/06/2026

@OliverCzulo Ja okay, für uns weiße Dudes ist der Faschismus vielleicht noch nicht so spürbar, aber für migrantische oder rassisierte Menschen ist das schon ziemlich real glaube ich. Und ganz ehrlich, so lange die SPD diese menschen- und grundrechtsfeindliche […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/06/2026

I am at a rather expensive #CompetitionLaw conference today & was quite interested to hear #Competition Commissioner Teresa #Ribera's opening speech. But that she opens her speech calling #Brussels the "Capital of the respect for human beings" just 1 day […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Stage with Teresa Ribera speaking and a large screen and blue curtains behind her.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/06/2026

#Wsocial : We don't do #ElonMusk. #Nazis are very welcome on our platform but they must be European. @EUCommission President: Yay, we'll join Wsocial the new European unicorn or something! 🎉 #BuyEuropean #DigitalSovereignty

Screenshot of Blick headline with quote from W Social founder: "Alice Weidel is also welcome on our platform." (Weidel is a leading far-right politician from Germany's AfD party.)

Screenshot from Politico Europe reporting quoting the Commission President as saying she'll join W Social as of Wednesday 17 June. The headline is "Von der Leyen backs new 'EU-made' social network".

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/06/2026

Brilliant analysis by @corporateeurope and @lobbycontrol of how much money large corporations spend on influencing laws in Europe. No surprise: #BigTech dominates again. I mean the @EUCommission really should not grant any company 1-2 high-level #lobbying […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Sharepic showing how Meta, Amazon and Apple are the top lobbying spenders in Brussels with 135-400% increases and also get most of the high-level Commission meetings.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/06/2026

You know something is off in your #democracy if somebody complying with a court order is considered newsworthy.

The Guardian headline: "Kennedy Center removes Trump’s name from its website after US judge’s order. Performing arts venue takes down references to a ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ in compliance with judge's ruling."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026

Gotta love how the @EUCommission press conference video stream about the #DigitalSovereignty package is hosted by #AWS. Also: everyone who wants to access any EU law online needs to run #Amazon's #JavaScript on their device. 🤷

Screenshot of the European Commission's website with the Firefox extension NoScript open that shows a bunch of AWS domains.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/05/2026

On my transcontinental #train ride back home #Warsaw -> #Brussels now. I know many people don't like #NightTrains but I admit the service quality at #EuropeanSleeper has been very satisfying so far. I've got a compartment for myself and can even choose the […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Photo of night train cabin with two beds on the left side and a seat and table on the right.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/05/2026

I have to say I'm seriously impressed that Polish train operator #PKP uses its onboard screens to provide #DigitalSecurity advice to passengers. Things like lock your screen when you leave your seat, or use a #VPN when you're on our (unencrypted) WiFi. 🔥

Photo of onboard screen in Polish IC train showing a person logging into their computer with username and password.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/05/2026

Yay, we made it to #Berlin and are now on our last leg to #Warsaw. ETA 21h00 as scheduled in'shallah 🚄 #TrainAdventures #DeutscheBahn #PKP

Photo of the open door of a Polish InterCity train

Photo of a seat in a Polish InterCity train

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/05/2026

Aaand behold! Our connection to #Berlin did actually wait for us in #Geilenkirchen. We now have a delay of 33mn with 60mn time to catch our train Berlin -> #Warsaw. We might actually make it today. 🎉 #TrainAdventures #DeutscheBahn

Photo of a laptop with lots of cool stickers in front of a train window. Outside green trees flying by.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/05/2026

First stop #Aachen, let's see if the #ICE to Berlin is on time :)

Photo of a glass of hot chocolate in the sun with the cathedral of Aachen as a blurry background

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/05/2026

Today: cross-continental #train travel with @edri colleagues from #Brussels to #Warsaw via #Aachen and #Berlin. Don't you dare touching any trains today @evawolfangel 🤪

Photo of train tracks in the yellowish morning sun

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/05/2026

You know your product is bad if you need to send lobbyists to the #Pope. #AI #Vatican #BigTech #lobbying

Screenshot of Politico headline "Silicon Valley takes its AI pitch to the pope" and underneath a photograph of Big Tech representatives posing with the pope.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026

It looks like the French government mobile app that allows people to vote remotely requires the proprietary #Google #SafetyNet. (At least it throws an error on a @murena phone.) 😢 #DigitalSovereignty #France #KeepAndroidOpen

Screenshot of France Identité error message on Murena Android phone.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/05/2026

Hey @slimbook, what has happened to the excellent Elemental 14" budget laptop you offered in the past. Has the #AI hype killed it or are there chances it will come back? 😬

Official sales image of the Slimbook Elemental laptop

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/05/2026

While the @EUCommission rep of course defends the #simplification agenda, Romain Robert from the @EDPS makes an important argument: if you wanted to "simplify" #GDPR, lawmakers could have clarified all the challenged items the law still has like #PayOrOK.

Photo showing a large stage with 5 people on it discussing and a screen overhead. In front there are people in the audience.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/05/2026

And yes, let me start like every year by pointing out the problematic list of conference sponsors (similar to #rp26) : Sure it's cool to have a bling bling conference but at what price? Of course that doesn't mean there can't be good debates here, I will try to contribute to that...

Sponsor logos of CPDP conference including Apple, Google, Uber, Microsoft and Tiktok.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/05/2026

I know there is #rp26 but I'm at #CPDP2026 in Brussels from now until the end of the week. Will post some thoughts about what I hear and see in this thread 🧵 Expect rants, celebrations and half-baked hot takes. (And PM me if you're here and think we should talk :)

Large stage with a panel featuring 3 men and the female moderator with a large screen overhead.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/05/2026

European tax payer money is used to fund Israeli #spyware companies. Tell your politicians to stop it! Sign @edri's petition now: crm.edri.org/kiss

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/04/2026

Now it's official: #RightsCon 2026 has been censored and cancelled by the government of #Zambia. This is a loss for the global #DigitalRights community, a bigger one for #AccessNow, and maybe the biggest for #Zambia and the entire region, as future human […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/04/2026

This is absolutely wild: The #Zambia government has just cancelled the world's most important digital rights conference #RightsCon 2026 which was supposed to start next week in #Lusaka. 3,000+ participants are now hanging in limbo (myself included), some […] [Original post on eupolicy.social]

Facebook post of the Zambian Ministry of Information and Media announcing the "postponement" of RightsCon 2026 due to "the need for comprehensive disclosure of critical information relating to key thematic issues proposed for discussion during the Summit."

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/04/2026

#Mastodon looking smart today at @OpenForumEurope's Digital Public Infrastructure event in #Brussels. Looking forward to your contributions here @mellifluousbox !

Photo of a panel of speakers in an old style wooden room with Felix Hlatky in the middle dressed in suit and tie.

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Jan Penfrat @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/04/2026

Please let me finish the work day with this gem of political photography.

Trump and Italian PM Meloni shake hands at summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in October 2025. Meloni looks at Trump with rolling eyes and an expression that could be read as annoyance or even disgust. Photograph: Getty Images

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