Alexander Fanta

@fantafanta
1,046 Followers
621 Following
354 Posts
Journalist on the digital beat. Reporting on Big Tech and surveillance. FOI curious.
Storieshttps://www.ftm.eu/author/alexander-fanta
Alexander Fanta6d ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@fantafanta/116554251796800503

News update: As our story published, xAI quietly changed its contact address again, to another address in Estonia.

I'm taking bets on whether, this time, their "office" is for real.

Alexander Fanta6d ago

PHANTOM OFFICE: Elon Musk’s AI company xAI that runs X chatbot Grok has quietly moved its official European point of contact for users to Estonia – to a building whose owner says it has no contract with the company or its representatives.

Gift link:
https://www.ftm.eu/articles/elon-musk-ai-company-basement-address?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebuttonleden&utm_source=linkbutton&share=P7HMAhWtc3LQPutmyBDJHiNtuhx%2FvkjOB7ZkE3dT0j2UDIEbkFpB0xytFKsKXhk%3D

Elon Musk’s AI firm directs complaints to dodgy address in Estonia

Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism

Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
Alexander FantaMay 3
Hot take - the age verification debate is a first red-hot alarm sign that the EU's Digital Services Act is not working as intended. If it was, social media companies would be mad a fixing minor protection. But they aren't, because the DSA is a paper tiger - a law the Commissionis too slow and too afraid to enforce. So countries across Europe go their own way.
Alexander FantaApr 29

SNEAKY - on 5 June the Council of the EU holds a non-public event at its Brussels headquarters to mark the 25th anniversary of the EU’s transparency law, Regulation 1049/2001. Yes, you heard that right – there’s a closed-door event to celebrate transparency.

A classic EU move, one might say.

We’ll make sure to file a request for the minutes – which, we suspect, will be marked “LIMITE”.

Read this and other transparency news in the latest Secrecy Tracker newsletter:
https://euobserver.com/213899/secrecy-tracker-data-centre-secrecy-and-top-eu-court-database-disaster/

Secrecy tracker: Data centre secrecy and top EU court database ‘disaster’

In this edition of the Secrecy Tracker: how Big Tech’s fingerprints ended up on data centre secrecy laws, the European Court of Justice’s €1.2m website "disaster," and the irony of a closed-door event celebrating transparency. Plus, the Ombudsman is facing an AI-fuelled complaint surge.

EUobserver
Alexander FantaApr 29
Follow the Money EUApr 29
After Manfred Weber took over as president, the European People’s Party hired two advisors with deep connections to Greece's ruling party, racking up over half a million euros in costs for the EU party in just six months. A joint investigation by Follow the Money and Greek media partner inside story reveals the details. https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/european-peoples-party-manfred-weber-hired-expensive-consultancies
Top EU party spent €100k a month on two consultants – with little to show for it

After Manfred Weber took over as president, the European People’s Party hired two advisors with deep connections to Greece's ruling party, racking up over half a million euros in costs for the EU party in just six months. A joint investigation by Follow the Money and Greek media partner inside story reveals the details.

Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
Alexander FantaApr 16
Forum InformationsfreiheitApr 16

In der Signal-Chatgruppe der EU-Außenminister*innen werden laut der EU-Außenbeauftragen Kaja Kallas wichtige Dokumente ausgetauscht und hochrangige Treffen vorbereitet. Auf eine IFG-Anfrage hieß es, diese Chats seien keine Nachrichten im Sinne des Gesetzes. /1

https://www.informationsfreiheit.at/2026/04/13/welche-faelle-wir-vor-gericht-gebracht-haben/

Welche Fälle wir vor Gericht gebracht haben – Forum Informationsfreiheit (FOI)

Alexander FantaApr 14
finApr 14

RE: https://fedi.at/@informationsfreiheit/116401884793587976

Help!

Wir suchen juristische Unterstützung bei der Bekämpfung einer mühsamen Entscheidung der Erstinstanz, die selbst jegliche teilweise Informationserteilung bei diesen wichtigen Kaufverträgen ausschließt.

Alexander FantaApr 7

After reports about Russian meddling oduring the Romanian presidential elections, the EU Commission launched an investigation into TikTok.

But more than a year later, and just days from a crucial vote in Hungary, the EU's probe is still open.

What's taking so long?

https://www.ftm.eu/articles/brussels-investigation-tiktok-investigation-stalled-hungary-elections?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebuttonleden&utm_source=linkbutton&share=hrTv1NN0VF7J9oaGDC6L%2BajmkEpNGE%2FxS1mBO8XJurc7%2Fz0qD4rm1NuwC9emwB8%3D

Slow EU TikTok probe raises fears of foreign meddling ahead of Hungary vote

As Hungary heads to the polls on Sunday, reports about Russia interfering in the elections are gaining urgency – and so does a European Commission probe into whether social media platforms are doing enough to prevent this from happening.

Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
Alexander FantaApr 1
The whole social media ban for kids debate will become so much more fun when the kids realise that gaming platforms such as Roblox are likely classed as social networks (for instance, under the EU's Digital Services Act), and thus banned for them.
Alexander FantaMar 30

Yes, I work at "Follow the Money".

No, we haven't found it yet.