Tootfinder

A Paris court rejects a French government request to suspend Shein in the country after finding illegal weapons and child-like sex dolls for sale on the site (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/shein-fast-fashion-paris-5014e98e3479485dd45f0e5bdf…

”Yet far fewer people would disagree that when a billionaire uses their wealth to buy a politician, to influence a government, to own a newspaper or a social media platform, or to out-lawyer any opposition to ensure them impunity from justice, that these actions are inimical to progress and fairness. Such power gives billionaires a grasp over all our futures, undermining political freedom and eroding the rights of the many.”

French government always talks about technological sovereignty…
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/12/15/us-tech-firm-palantir-extends-deal-with-french-intelligence-agency_6748523_7.html

Sources: Pinduoduo and Temu owner PDD fires dozens following a fistfight between employees and Chinese officials probing fraudulent deliveries on its platform (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-17/pd…

Echt een goed idee dit, dgitaal kunnen overleggen/vergaderen is cruciaal voor een overheid, die faciliteiten kun je maar beter zelf in de hand houden, bovendien lijkt het ook nog goedkoper volgens dit artikel
https://cyberinsider.com/france-to-replace-…

Someone's gone up in my estimation (not a lot and from a low base, but up)
https://www.thejournal.ie/media-minister-x-grok-6921938-Jan2026/
(Also, a sign that X is being recognised as toxic, finally.)

France plans to replace Microsoft Teams and Zoom with French-made and Outscale-hosted Visio by 2027, as part of a push to drop US software vendors in government (Pascale Davies/Euronews)
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/01/27/f

#China 's government takes up to 35% of small #business prepaid revenue:
"At a fitness center...Mr. Liu was paying for an annual gym membership by scanning a QR code...prominently marked with 'Trusted Consumption Code of Prepaid Consumption Credit Supervision Platform'.
.…

Ahora que sigan todos
@… https://mastodon.social/@eunews/115967803781924499

Israel's cabinet votes to shut down popular national radio station Army Radio, saying it has become a platform for views that "attack" its armed forces (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-tel

Discord says that the "vast majority of people can continue using Discord exactly as they do today" without needing to use a face scan or ID to verify their age (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/876575/discord-age-verification-vas…

There were actually a lot of good recommendations from that Committee report, the one on PR was just the final one! Here's a few more.. including some that local #Fediverse proponents could dig into! @… was on the Committee.
—>FEDI ADVANTAGE<— “The Committee heard about a number of issues related to
the electoral information environment. Members recommend
that the provincial government collaborate with Elections
BC and the federal government to review existing legislative
and regulatory measures related to misinformation,
disinformation, and hate speech during elections, including
**mechanisms to ensure the timely removal of harmful content** (**emphasis added)”
—> FEDI ADVANTAGE<— “To better address challenges associated with social media and emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence, Members recommend establishing a working group to propose amendments to BC’s privacy and election legislation. To better protect all users, the Committee recommends requiring digital platforms to act with a duty of care and establish clear safety-related requirements such as data privacy, platform design, and content policy. The Committee also heard about concerns regarding foreign interference, and recommends that these be considered by the Electoral Integrity Working Group.”
—The Committee heard about the critical importance of
civic education to ensure the public’s understanding of
democratic institutions, processes, and participation. The
Committee recommends strengthening civic education
in the K-12 school system with input from experts and a
greater emphasis on applied learning.
— the Committee suggests enhancing data collection by requiring proactive enumeration on an annual basis and ensuring that registered parties and candidates can access poll-by-poll results. Elections BC should review and improve
voter registration practices and communication, as well as
access to and public awareness of voting opportunities. With respect to expanding voter eligibility, the Committee supports further examination of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds as well as permanent residents in BC.
— Committee Members recommend modernizing the candidate nominator verification process, requiring Elections BC to collect and share voters’ contact information with registered political parties and candidates, and strengthening measures related to access to multi-unit buildings for candidates and their campaigns.
Full report to the Legislature: #BCPoli #CanPoli #CdnPoli #ElectoralReform #Democracy #ProportionalRepresentation #Polarization

Sources: India raises concerns about the misuse of Indian phone numbers on WhatsApp, which banned 9.8M Indian accounts per month on average in 2025 to October (Kiran Rathee/The Economic Times)
https://econom…