More than 1.29 million EU citizens call for digital ownership protections as the “Stop Destroying Videogames” initiative is submitted to the European Commission.

MEP Markéta Gregorová and Pirate Party representatives join initiative organizers in Brussels.

Brussels, Belgium, 23 February 2026: Representatives of the European Citizens’ Initiative “Stop Destroying Videogames” (SDV), alongside the Pirate Party in the European Parliament and “Stop Killing Global”, formally handed over more than 1.29 million signatures to Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Michael McGrath today in Brussels, urging the adoption of stronger consumer protections in the digital games market.

Supported by citizens throughout the European Union, the initiative calls on policymakers to address the increasing problem of online games being arbitrarily shut down or made inaccessible despite legal purchase. The video game sector now exceeds the combined economic scale of film and music, yet continues to operate within a legal grey area. Current industry practices allow companies to restrict or revoke access to digital content without warning or recourse. That leaves consumers vulnerable.

During the handover, MEP Markéta Gregorová (Pirate Party) underscored the significance of digital ownership rights:

“If buying isn’t owning, then revoking access is stealing. We cannot allow multi-billion-euro monopolies to treat our digital libraries as temporary rentals they can destroy at will. Digital sovereignty – whether as a Union or as individuals, is non-negotiable.”

Daniel Ondruška, spokesperson for the initiative, highlighted the regulatory gap affecting consumers across the EU. He noted that players reasonably expect continued access to products they have legally purchased. Yet existing EU law offers limited protection when publishers discontinue online services or remove access to games.

Organizers emphasize that video games constitute not only commercial products but also cultural works, social platforms, and elements of digital heritage. Moritz Katzner, Interim General Director of Stop Killing Global, stated that the shutdown of servers or deletion of games without viable alternatives constitutes a significant consumer rights concern and threatens trust in digital markets.

Supporters of the initiative identify the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act as a critical legislative opportunity to address these challenges and update EU consumer protection law for the digital era. The European Commission noted in 2024 that certain digital market practices related to access to purchased content may fall within a legal grey area or raise compliance concerns.

Following the formal submission of signatures, campaign representatives urge the European Commission to implement clear legal safeguards to ensure that consumers retain access to legally purchased digital games, even when online services are discontinued.

About Stop Destroying Videogames (SDV)

Stop Destroying Videogames is a European Citizens’ Initiative launched in 2024 to protect gamers’ rights to retain access to legally purchased digital titles. Through public advocacy, petitions, and policy engagement, the initiative aims to strengthen EU consumer protection frameworks for digital goods and services.

Conclusion

With civil society having made its position clear, it is now time for the European Union to ensure that the digital future fully upholds consumer rights.

Media Resource

Press conference recording: m.twitch.tv/stopkillinggames_o…

Press & Media Contact

Contact for inquiries:
Kalpana (Press Officer)
kalpana.vogeti@europeanpirates.eu

europeanpirates.eu/stop-destro…

Steve and James discuss our upcoming events, the current Pirate Council election, New Hampshire’s turn towards censorship and the latest snow storm. Stay safe!

youtube.com/embed/p2kgNDIaMvo?…

Sign up to our newsletter to get notified of new events, find our upcoming events or volunteer. Join us on:

• Mastodon;
• Facebook;
• Blue Sky;
• Twitter.

Check out:

• Surveillance Memory Bank and Resources;
• Our Administrative Coup Memory Bank;
• Our Things to Do when Fascists are Taking Over.

Some links we mentioned:

• House passes bill banning ‘leftist indoctrination’ and LGBTQ+ teaching in public schools;
• National Weather Service 7-day Forecast;
• Boston/Norton, MA Weather Forecast.

The public domain music we used (all from the Internet Archive):

• Stokowski Acoustics 1917-1925 – Red Label Victors;
• If winter comes;
• Phoebe Snow by the Ray Miller Orchestra.

Image Credit: James O’Keefe, CC By-SA 4.0

masspirates.org/blog/2026/02/2…

EDRi’s new position paper addresses the growing threat of manipulative and unfair platform design in the EU’s digital environment. It examines how deceptive interfaces, exploitative personalisation, and addictive design practices are embedded in today’s digital economy and why existing laws fail to tackle their structural roots. Grounded in a rights-based analysis, the paper argues that the Digital Fairness Act must deliver systemic change by embedding fairness by design and by default into the digital infrastructure that shapes our lives.

The post Breaking the extractive digital business model: a rights-based Digital Fairness Act appeared first on European Digital Rights (EDRi).

EDRi and 35 organisations are urging Members of the European Parliament to reject any extension of the the temporary ePrivacy derogration, also known as “Chat Control 1.0”, and to protect the rights that keep us safe from arbitrary snooping in our lives.

The post Open Letter: We say no to Big Tech mass snooping on our messages! appeared first on European Digital Rights (EDRi).

ON THIS DAY – February 23

It was on this day, 111 years ago, that Robert Smalls passed away.

By no uncertain terms do we say: the story of Robert Smalls is perhaps one of the most remarkable in United States history.

In short, Robert Smalls was born into slavery, successfully commandeered a Confederate ship and sailed it straight into Union waters to gain the freedom for himself and families aboard the ship. Smalls would go on to become a Congressman in South Carolina and purchase the house in which he was once a slave.

Every once in a blue moon, you might see the story of his seizing of the Confederate ship shared online as a sort of “TIL” to much fanfare, but the story deserves so much more attention than a footnote of interesting history.

We have previously written about Smalls ourselves, being the subject of The Big Legacy of Robert Smalls, from the Through the Spyglass series, but on this day, we felt it right to once again put his story to the forefront.

Robert Smalls, you were self-determination and fearlessness personified. Our words could never do it justice. We honor you not only for what you did for your fellow man, not only for your bravery, but to honor you for the hero that you are.

R.I.P. Captain Smalls. 111 years later we still honor your name, your story and, simply put, you.

uspirates.org/otd-robert-small…

ICYMI

Candidates – Pennsylvania’s Drew Bingaman recently appeared on the PA Dems Progressive Caucus Podcast to promote his campaign for PA State House District 108. You can find that interview on TikTok, and with a link to Part 1 provided here. Drew also held successful Meet and Greets on February 19th and 21st. Nevada’s Hunter Rand has been campaigning around and speaking with neighbors as well, which you can learn all the latest about his campaign via his Facebook page.

Pirate National Committee – During last night’s meeting, the board held their election to fill the vacancies of Directors of PR and the Online. We are pleased to announce our new directors: Joseph Wolfson, our new Director of PR, and Mars Bale, our new Director of the Online. Both will hold the offices for the remainder of the term, which shall be up for reelection during the Pirate National Conference in Boston, MA on June 6th-7th.

Platform – The wording of “Putting People Before Corporations” has been updated to read “Putting Individuals Before Institutions” to not only reinforce our fight against corporate overreach, but state overreach as well. We believe that the people hold the ultimate power in this nation, and institutions should not exist to crush the will of the people.

You can catch up on the livestreamed meeting here!

uspirates.org/icymi-updates-fr…

Die Piratenpartei hat ihre Stellungnahme zum Bundesgesetz über Kommunikationsplattformen und Suchmaschinen (KomPG) eingereicht.
Das Gesetz enthält wichtige Ansätze zum Schutz der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer, schafft jedoch gleichzeitig strukturelle Anreize für vorauseilende Inhaltskontrolle und gefährdet damit die Meinungs- und Informationsfreiheit (Art. 16 BV).
Die Piraten begrüssen prinzipiell das Ziel, die Rechte der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer zu stärken und Risiken für Grundrechte sowie demokratische Prozesse frühzeitig zu erkennen. In der vorliegenden Form weist der Entwurf jedoch in zentralen Punkten erhebliche Mängel auf, die dringend korrigiert werden müssen.

Insbesondere kritisieren wir folgende Punkte und regen entsprechende Verbesserungen an.
1. Empfehlungssysteme: Opt-In als Standard
2. Haftungsprivileg für Plattformen einfügen
3. Dauerhafter Ausschluss darf keine Massnahme sein
4. KI-generierte Inhalte müssen gekennzeichnet werden
5. Keine Verwendung schützenswerter Personendaten für Profiling und Werbung
6. Das Grundrecht auf Medienfreiheit ist gemäss Bundesverfassung auch auf Plattformen anzuwenden.

1. Empfehlungssysteme: Opt-In als Standard
Empfehlungsalgorithmen strukturieren die Sichtbarkeit von Inhalten und begünstigen häufig die Entstehung von Filterblasen. Sie können die Polarisierung der Gesellschaft verstärken und den offenen Austausch unterschiedlicher Perspektiven behindern. Angesichts dieser Auswirkungen auf den gesellschaftlichen Diskurs fordert die Piratenpartei, dass Empfehlungssysteme erst nach expliziter Zustimmung der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer aktiviert werden dürfen. Der Standard muss Opt-In sein, nicht Opt-Out.
Pat Mächler, Vorstand Piratenpartei Schweiz: „Empfehlungssysteme sind kein neutrales Werkzeug, sie prägen, was Menschen sehen und denken. Darüber müssen Nutzerïnnen und Nutzer selbst entscheiden können, nicht die Plattformen.“

2. Haftungsprivileg für Plattformen einfügen
Das Gesetz schafft in seiner aktuellen Form einen strukturellen Druck auf Plattformen, Inhalte vorsorglich und automatisiert zu entfernen, um regulatorische Nachteile zu vermeiden. Die Piratenpartei fordert die Wiedereinführung eines angemessenen Haftungsprivilegs: Plattformen sollen grundsätzlich nicht für Inhalte ihrer Nutzerinnen und Nutzer haften – mindestens solange sie keine Meldung nach Art. 4 erhalten haben. Erst das Web 2.0 mit nutzergeneriertem Content und dem damit verbundenen Haftungsprivileg ermöglichte das Internet, wie wir es heute kennen. Die Vorlage tangiert damit die elementare Funktionsweise des Internets. Der Schutz vor Overblocking ist dabei ebenso zentral wie die effektive Durchsetzung des geltenden Rechts.
Jorgo Ananiadis, Präsident Piratenpartei: „Wer Plattformen für jeden Inhalt haftbar macht, zwingt sie zur vorauseilenden Zensur. Das schadet nicht den Konzernen, es schadet den Nutzerinnen und Nutzern.“

3. Dauerhafter Ausschluss darf keine Massnahme sein
Plattformen, die mindestens zehn Prozent der Bevölkerung erreichen, nehmen eine zentrale Rolle für den demokratischen Austausch ein. Einen Menschen dauerhaft von diesen Räumen auszuschliessen, entspricht keinem rechtsstaatlichen Prinzip. In unserem Rechtssystem wird niemand nach einer Verurteilung dauerhaft von der Gesellschaft ausgeschlossen. Die Piratenpartei fordert die Streichung des dauerhaften Ausschlusses als zulässige Massnahme (Art. 6 Abs. 2). Bei strafrechtlich relevanten Tatbeständen kann stattdessen ein System progressiver, temporärer Suspensionen zur Anwendung kommen.
Renato Sigg, Vorstand Piratenpartei: „Wer einmal gegen die Nutzungsbedingungen verstösst, soll sanktioniert werden können, aber nicht für immer verbannt. Dieses Prinzip gilt im Rechtsstaat, es muss auch hier gelten.“

4. KI-generierte Inhalte müssen gekennzeichnet werden
Die Qualität von KI-generierten Inhalten nimmt stetig zu und ihre Verbreitung auf Plattformen ist bereits heute erheblich. Um die freie Meinungsbildung zu schützen und der Verbreitung von Falschinformationen entgegenzuwirken, ist eine Kennzeichnungspflicht für KI-generierte Inhalte unerlässlich. Die Piratenpartei fordert, diese Pflicht ausdrücklich in Art. 13 aufzunehmen.
Jorgo Ananiadis: „Wenn eine KI ein Bild oder ein Video generiert hat, haben Nutzerinnen und Nutzer ein Recht darauf, das zu wissen. Transparenz über den Ursprung von Inhalten ist kein Luxus, sondern Grundvoraussetzung für freie Meinungsbildung.“

5. Keine Verwendung schützenswerter Personendaten für Profiling und Werbung
Kommunikationsplattformen verarbeiten in erheblichem Umfang sensible Personendaten, wie politische Überzeugungen, Gesundheitsinformationen oder religiöse Ansichten. Die Nutzung dieser Daten für personalisierte Werbung stellt einen schwerwiegenden Eingriff in die Digitale Integrität der Menschen und die informationelle Selbstbestimmung (Art. 13 BV) und potenziell in die freie Meinungsbildung (Art. 16 BV) dar. Transparenzpflichten allein genügen hier nicht. Die Piratenpartei fordert ein ausdrückliches Verbot der Verwendung sensibler Personendaten im Sinne des Datenschutzgesetzes für Profiling und personalisierte Werbezwecke.
Renato Sigg: „Sensible Personendaten gehören dem Menschen, dem sie entstammen, nicht den Algorithmen, die damit Profile bauen. Ein Verbot ihrer Verwendung zu Werbezwecken ist kein Eingriff in den Markt, sondern Schutz der Grundrechte.“

6. Grundrecht auf Medienfreiheit gilt auch für Kommunikationsplattformen
Der erläuternde Bericht zum Gesetzesentwurf übergeht das Grundrecht auf Medienfreiheit (Art. 17 BV) vollständig. Dabei garantiert die Bundesverfassung ausdrücklich: „Die Freiheit von […] andere[n] Formen der öffentlichen fernmeldetechnischen Verbreitung von […] Informationen ist gewährleistet.“ Die Piratenpartei vertritt die Auffassung, dass Kommunikationsplattformen nach dem Wortlaut dieser Bestimmung grundsätzlich in den Schutzbereich dieses Grundrechts einbezogen sein müssen. Jede staatliche Regulierung, die in die Verbreitung von Inhalten auf diesen Plattformen eingreift, hätte entsprechend zu begründen, weshalb dieser Eingriff verhältnismässig ist. Dies ist ein Mangel, der zwingend behoben werden muss. Selbst wenn die Anwendbarkeit der Medienfreiheit auf Kommunikationsplattformen rechtlich umstritten ist, wäre es der Vollständigkeit und Sorgfaltspflicht halber angezeigt gewesen, diese Frage im erläuternden Bericht zu thematisieren und zu prüfen.
Melanie Hartmann, Vorstand Piratenpartei: „Wer ein Gesetz zur Regulierung von Kommunikationsplattformen schreibt und dabei Art. 17 der Bundesverfassung nicht einmal erwähnt, hat eine Hausaufgabe vergessen – eine grundrechtliche.“

Die Vernehmlassung im Wortlaut finden Sie hier.

piratenpartei.ch/2026/02/23/st…

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

We don’t yet know whether the government will appeal the dismissal of its deportation case against Rümeysa Öztürk for co-writing an op-ed it didn’t like. Regardless, others — like Ya’akub Vijandre — remain locked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for exercising their press freedom rights. Read on for more on the week in press freedom.

Leakers helped exonerate Rümeysa Öztürk

Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk’s deportation case was finally thrown out this month, although the government can still seek review of the dismissal. The ruling came after a memo leaked to the press revealed that the administration knew before arresting her that its allegations of terrorism and antisemitism were false. Öztürk’s supporters were right all along — the case was based entirely on her co-authorship of a relatively tame pro-Palestinian op-ed.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern wrote for The Intercept about how the case is yet another example of leaks — which the government claims pose a dire risk to national security — instead serving the public good and exposing misconduct. When the government lies to the people and ignores the Freedom of Information Act, it’s inevitable that people of conscience will bring important documents like the Öztürk memo to the press.

• Read the article

How free news helped Chicago get through Operation Midway Blitz

When immigration authorities invaded Chicago last year, they often targeted lower-income neighborhoods, meaning the people who most needed news about their activities were unlikely to be able to afford a newspaper subscription.

Fortunately, Chicago is full of news outlets that don’t paywall their excellent reporting (as are Los Angeles and Minneapolis, Minnesota, which experienced similar assaults in recent months). But the next city might not be so lucky. Stern and FPF founding board member, actor, and activist John Cusack joined “In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons” on Chicago’s NPR affiliate, WBEZ, to discuss that and other press freedom issues.

• Listen here

Uber for authoritarians

Speaking of leakers bringing us important news, a manual for ICE’s immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked on Jan. 30 via 404 Media.

John Skiles Skinner, an engineering manager at FPF, took a break from improving SecureDrop (more on that later) to evaluate the manual and the dark road it shows we’re on. He writes that “the software allows the administration to order up a goon squad wherever they want, at the touch of a button. Like Uber for authoritarians. Let’s call it repression as a service.”

• Read more

Five security lessons from the FBI’s Washington Post raid

The January FBI raid of the home of Washington Post federal government reporter Hannah Natanson, in connection with a leak probe involving a government contractor, was a dangerous escalation against press freedom and likely runs afoul of the Privacy Protection Act. It shouldn’t have happened at all, but it might preview what’s to come.

FPF Deputy Director of Digital Security Dr. Martin Shelton recently examined a court document that shines light on some specifics of the case, and wrote about five lessons journalists can learn.

• Read more

SecureDrop keeps getting better

FPF is proud to announce the latest version of SecureDrop — open source software whistleblowers use to communicate anonymously with journalists.

The release lays the groundwork for the upcoming SecureDrop App and other exciting efforts to make SecureDrop faster, cheaper, and more secure for newsrooms worldwide. Stay tuned.

• Read more

What we're reading

‘We returned from hell’: Palestinian journalists recount torture in Israeli prisons

Committee to Protect Journalists
Fifty-eight Palestinian journalists “reported being subjected to what they described as torture, abuse, or other forms of violence” in Israeli detention facilities since October 2023.

Prison-style free speech censorship is coming for the rest of us

The Intercept
Incarcerated journalist and FPF columnist Jeremy Busby wrote about how the upcoming trial of a Texas activist for possessing anarchist zines reminds him of the censorship and retaliation that has been prevalent inside prisons for decades.

Photojournalists documenting Trump’s deportation forces play critical role, but face increasing state violence

Prism
A veteran civil rights attorney warns that “frontline journalists should read the specifics of any emergency order and ask: How do I protect myself, and how do I push back against laws that I feel are unjust, immoral, unconscionable, or that get in the way of freedom of the press?”

Homeland security wants social media sites to expose anti-ICE accounts

The New York Times
It should be obvious that criticizing ICE — or any government agency — on social media is protected by the First Amendment. Tech companies must not comply with sweeping government demands that seek to unmask users simply for expressing their opinions online.

Officials investigating how Lookout obtained report on Oregon State Hospital

Lookout Eugene-Springfield
“The hunting of whistleblowers is wrong because it is failing to address the actual problem, which is the reason they blow the whistle in the first place,” FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose said.

Wisconsin Assembly passes anti-SLAPP legislation

Wisconsin Examiner
Good news: The Wisconsin Assembly advanced its bill protecting people from strategic lawsuits against public participation to the Senate. Legislatures in red, blue, and purple states understand there’s nothing partisan about protecting journalists, activists, and everyone else from anti-speech lawfare.

• Donate to FPF

Upcoming events

Join us at the events below; click the flyers for more info, including on how to register.

Join us for a timely digital security training on how to protect your devices, sources and reporting material from adversaries, particularly in the face of physical interception, sponsored by the NewsGuild-CWA.

freedom.press/issues/leakers-h…

404 Media

2026-01-30 14:49:01

Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE

Earlier this month we revealed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using a Palantir tool called ELITE to decide which neighborhoods to raid.

The tool lets ICE populate a map with potential deportation targets, bring up dossiers on each person, and view an address “confidence score” based on data sourced from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other government agencies. This is according to a user guide for ELITE 404 Media obtained.

404 Media is now publishing a version of that user guide so people can read it for themselves.

💡
Do you know anything else about ELITE? Do you work at Palantir, ICE, or CBP? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.

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Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE

404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.

^{Joseph Cox (404 Media)}

At the last board meeting we made the decision to keep all PPI board meetings at 17:00 UTC on Tuesday. While the rotating system was designed to assist members from around the globe to participate, in practice it meant that those towards the East or West extremes of UTC were excluded from half the meetings. As such, we hope that everyone can attend more frequently. If needed, we will change the schedule again to accomodate those that need another time.

Our next PPI board meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 10th at 17:00 UTC / 18:00 CET.

All official PPI proceedings, board meetings included, are open to the public. Feel free to stop by. We’ll be happy to have you.

Where:jitsi.pirati.cz/PPI-Board

Agenda: Pad: etherpad.pp-international.net/…

All of our meetings are posted to our calendar: pp-international.net/calendar/

We look forward to seeing visitors.

Thank you for your support,

The Board of PPI

pp-international.net/2026/02/u…

Every Thursday of the week, Bastian’s Night is broadcast from 21:30 CET.

Bastian’s Night is a live talk show in German with lots of music, a weekly round-up of news from around the world, and a glimpse into the host’s crazy week in the pirate movement.

If you want to read more about @BastianBB: –> This way

piratesonair.net/bastians-nigh…

What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: A competitiveness feast with our rights on the menu 🍽️

The post EDRi-gram, 18 February 2026 appeared first on European Digital Rights (EDRi).