The Digital Fairness Act aims to strengthen protection and digital fairness for consumers, while ensuring a level playing field and simplifying rules for businesses in the EU. It will address specific challenges as well as harmful practices that consumers face online, such as deceptive or manipulative interface design, misleading marketing by social media influencers, addictive design of digital products and unfair personalisation practices, especially where consumer vulnerabilities are exploited for commercial purposes.

An example of a deceptive design is the "hard to cancel" (aka "Roach Motel") pattern where it is easy to sign up for a service or subscription, but very difficult to cancel it, as it is demonstrated in this brief example by the New York Times.

Just yesterday, on 25 September, Amazon settled a legal complaint with a 2.5 billion euro payment over similar illegal practices after 17 consumer rights organizations from Europe and the U.S. had filed a legal complaint in 2021 against Amazon. Although a first timid step, it is a major win for a transatlantic consumer protection system.

The complaint was based on the initial report by the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) arguing Amazon puts obstacles in the way of consumers who wish to unsubscribe from its Amazon Prime service.

To avoid such deceptive patterns and manipulative designs, the EU plans to introduce the Digital Fairness Act.

The call for public consultation on the Digital Fairness Act is open until 24 October 2025.

[Edit title for clarity.]

At too farty (2.40)

Europe faces a new challenge: Trump’s America is exporting its culture wars into the EU. From meddling in elections to humiliating trade and defence deals, MAGA is reshaping Europe’s politics. But a new report argues Europe can fight back—with unity, confidence, and its own values. In this video, we unpack Trump’s culture war, Europe’s response, and what’s at stake for the EU’s future.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/36658436

I am not OP but this is cool.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36126832

It is an odd fruit and not too widespread but boy is it good. Wiki

Archived version

...

The country is pushing lithium extraction and refining, active cathode materials and recycling plants, aiming to close the loop and reduce reliance on imported inputs.

...

The bet combines competitively priced, low-carbon electricity, public support (subsidies, credit lines and streamlined permitting), European financing and a critical mass of industry that lowers transaction costs across the chain.

The co-location of gigafactories, active material suppliers, R&D centres and recyclers creates network effects and accelerates manufacturing learning curves.

...

If you remember it wrong, its over. (you keep the money you got and that's it)

No notes, digital physical or otherwise. You're only allowed to use your brain.

Starts with 5 words, totally random, then next day it 6 words (the original words from the previous day is kept the same, but adding one new word). Day one prize is $1000, day 2 prize is $2000... (so you have $3000 if you got the first 2 days correct) and so on...

(All currency in USD at current exchange rate)

How much do you think you can get?

I think I max out at like 12 words, then I'd just mess it up.

@Dort_Owl@hexbear.net @Snort_Owl@hexbear.net or whatever multi you're on, will these jorts fit to help cover up the hole where your ass' hole used to be?

I wrote in this post that I'm uncomfortaple to argue "genetical[ly] or genealogical[ly]" why people "belong" in some place or another. I think that's ethno-nationalist reasoning and a "weapon of the enemy" reasoning applies. Even if it's in favour of Palestinians.

But apparently, that's "settler-colonialist apologism" for dessalines. Ethno-nationalism is ok if it's targeting "the right" people, I guess. /s

I think the reasoning of the comment removal is bollocks. Just because I don't want to argue why someone "belongs" someplace because of their genes, I'm not all of a sudden in favour of settler-colonialism.

there is somebody really annoying I have to see most days who doesn't know what boundaries are: always physically too close, always asking prying questions.

because at this point I have nothing to lose, next time he starts his spiel I'm going to start doing really ridiculous stuff, so maybe now he starts avoiding me. Think of:

answering his questions, but only using the syllable la, like lalala lalalalala lalalalalalala... pointing fingers and opening and closing my eyes.

gesticulating and waving my arms like I was possessed by the demon while barking like a dog.

describing in great detail how I like to have sex with several kinds of animals.

problem is, I laugh very easily when I do silly stuff like this and if I burst out laughing while doing it to him, he will think I was doing it to amuse him and keep approaching me.

so, how do I train not to laugh while doing really silly stuff?

Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank, the Guardian can reveal.

Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform, sources familiar with the situation said.

The decision to cut off Unit 8200’s ability to use some of its technology results directly from an investigation published by the Guardian last month. It revealed how Azure was being used to store and process the trove of Palestinian communications in a mass surveillance programme.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/49513901

Reuters spoke with five private eyes, who all said their fraudulent sick leave business was booming - so much so that some agencies have ditched traditional gigs like extra-marital affairs to focus solely on employees suspected of skipping work.

Saw a YouTube post about it and went looking. Anyone here actually know what it is or what it’s used for?