The Rise of The Techtopia

Dear Citizens,

Regulation works! Elon Musk’s X got hit with a $140m fine in Europe this past week for violating the Digital Services Act with “deceptive blue check verification,” and he’s not happy about it. Having a totally normal one, Musk called for the complete abolition of the European Union, and has been frantically scuttling community notes about the fine. Well done EU.

Here’s what to read, watch and know this week.

🏙️ ONE READ: Sin City 🏙️

Our brains trust member Marietje Shaake flagged this terrific piece in the FT from Hannah Murphy, “Tech elites are starting their own for-profit cities.” She writes -

“What was a fringe concept a matter of years ago is now attracting more interest as scrappy start-up chief executives and aggrieved billionaires contemplate the allure of tech-friendly havens unbound by legacy rules and regulation. While some are aspirational, reliant on their founders securing hard-to-come-by special economic zone status, there are now about 120 “start-up societies” in the works … A few have received hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital from funds backed by the likes of investors Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, OpenAI founder Sam Altman and Brian Armstrong, Coinbase chief executive.”

Read her whole story here.

(A bonus read this week on surveillance and rights: Watched, Tracked, and Targeted Life in Gaza under Israel’s all-encompassing surveillance regime, reported over more than a year for New York Magazine by Palestinian journalist Mohammed R. Mhawish)

(Also? From our Signal chat … your toilet’s end to end encryption might be missing an end …)

👁️ONE WATCH: How AI 👁️

We meant to post this a few weeks ago, but it’s just as relevant today - especially as concerns over an AI bubble heat up. Friend of the Citizens and founder of the Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris joined Jon Stewart on the Daily Show to discuss how AI has already disrupted the workforce as current iterations of the technology have dropped entry-level work by 13%, and how reliance on AI is stifling human growth. His message? “This does not have to be our destiny.”

Watch the whole interview here:

❌ ONE ACTION: Break it Up Now ❌

Google just got fined for monopolising the ad market and sucking revenue from independent journalism. A fine is fine, but how about some real action? Over at Avaaz, a petition is gaining steam calling on the EU to break up the Big-G:

As EU citizens, we call on you to break up Google’s monopoly over digital advertising and take broader action to dismantle the excessive power of Big Tech across the digital economy. Your action can trigger a chain reaction across the world and help restore fair competition, protect consumers and defend our democracies.

EU readers can sign; everyone else can share.

That’s it for this week… well nearly in case our UK audience fancies another action.

❌ ANOTHER ACTION: Public Inquiry Now ❌

Action: Push Parliament to debate the inquiry

The petition calling for a full public inquiry into Russian interference has now passed 111,000 signatures.

Reaching 100k signatures makes a petition eligible for a debate, but only if MPs publicly back it.

So now we need to pile on the pressure.

Here are two ways you can help:

1. Email your MP

We’ve made this easy.

Copy the message below, paste it into an email to your MP, add your name and postcode, then hit send.

🔎 Find your MP: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Template email

Dear [MP name],

Public confidence in our democracy is being shaken.

I’m writing as your constituent because over 100,000 people have now signed the petition calling for a full public inquiry into Russian interference in UK democracy.

The 2020 Russia Report warned that hostile-state interference had become “the new normal” and identified credible evidence of Kremlin attempts to influence UK politics. That warning was never acted on.

The recent criminal conviction of former MEP Nathan Gill for accepting pro-Russia bribes shows the risk is ongoing, organised and targeted at elected representatives.

I am asking you to:

• publicly support the petition calling for a full inquiry, and
• call on the Petitions Committee to schedule a Commons debate

Ahead of the next election, voters must know that our democratic systems are defended. I hope you’ll add your voice.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Postcode]

2. Share it

Once you’ve emailed your MP, tell your friends, tell your boyfriend’s uncle, tell everyone.

Post on X, Bluesky, Instagram - tag us at @allthecitizens and we’ll amplify.

Together let’s make this something Parliament can’t ignore.

Team Citizens

*PS - Join our Signal Chat if you haven’t already! There’s 320 people in their now - get involved!