We are a growing movement fighting for a different digital future
We believe in the original promise of the internet as a force for good.
But a small group of tech corporations have cheated us of that dream, instead constructing a toxic, online world where they exploit our private data and attention to build vast advertising empires.
While they make obscene profits, we face the devastation of a system designed to keep people scrolling at all costs – rising hate and lies, stolen childhoods, polarisation, fragmentation of society and even violence.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, we’re already shifting the dial. Because together we are stronger than any corporation… and together we’re rising up to build a better digital world.
Our three priorities
Fix Our Feeds
Hate, disinformation, division... it's not a glitch in the system, it is the system. But tech giants can design their products to be safe. We just need to make them.
Stop Surveillance For Profit
Tech corporations spy on and profile us, then exploit our vulnerabilities to build vast fortunes. It's time to dismantle the spy machinery and reclaim our rights.
Break Open Big Tech
True tech progress serves people everywhere, not just a tiny group of CEOs. We're pushing to end Big Tech's stranglehold, so we can build a different future.
Our latest campaigns
YOUTH CAMPAIGN – applications closed.
Join us and be part of a European youth campaign to make social media safer, healthier and more supportive!
[Deadline extended to July 24th]
Campaign
FIX OUR FEEDS – EU Elections 2024
In a year of critical elections, we’re asking regulators to restore public trust in information and democracy by disabling toxic recommender systems
Latest news
What we have achieved so far
We won an EU-wide ban on the use of sensitive personal data for targeted advertising
Targeted advertising is at the dark heart of big tech’s twisted business model. It means corporations slicing and dicing the most intimate details of our lives to prey on our vulnerabilities, hijack our time and sell us things we don’t need or want.
So when the pundits said we had no hope of getting action on ads into the EU’s new tech law, a powerful movement of organisations, activists, and businesses refused to listen – instead working up watertight policy proposals and launching a massive people’s advocacy push for change.
The resulting ban on using sensitive data like race and religion to target people with ads is a vital first step towards the surveillance-free future we’re determined to build for everyone.
We got the EU to prohibit targeted advertising to kids
Keeping children safe from harm is society’s most basic job. But for years, a handful of tech CEOs have had free rein to spy and experiment on our kids – to sell them stuff, addict them to dangerous products and exploit their developing brains for profit.
Now a mega movement of parents, teachers, psychologists and concerned citizens is rising up to demand a safer, more enriching online world for children. And it’s winning results, like getting MEPs to vote for a ban on insidious spy-advertising to kids in Europe.
We’re just starting to see what the determination and moral clarity of this powerful coalition can achieve. Next stop? An internet that truly meets kids’ needs.
We teamed up with Nobel Laureates to write a 10-point plan to end disinformation
Sometimes people everywhere agree, and what’s needed is a powerful rallying call to connect, unite and galvanise action. So when Nobel prize-winners Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov said they wanted to issue a global call to rein in Big Tech and support journalism, our members leapt into action – teaming up to help develop, draft and promote a compelling manifesto for change.
Launched at the Nobel Peace Center in 2022, the actionable, 10-point plan has since been endorsed by over 294 Nobel laureates, organisations and individuals around the world. It’s a vision for a different future, and the best part is it’s totally doable.
Our members got the EU Commission to investigate Meta
Getting Europe to pass a strong tech law was a major victory for this movement. But the real work is making sure that law is enforced. That’s why the digital detectives at AI Forensics hit the ground running, with a deep-dive investigation revealing how Meta is letting pro-Russia propaganda ads flood the EU, in alleged breach of the Digital Services Act.
The European Commission has since launched formal proceedings against Meta, citing AI Forensics’ research. This is accountability in action!
Our members are pushing regulators to tackle gender-biased algorithms
Tech justice and women’s rights campaigners have united in a mighty coalition to tackle the insidious challenge of discriminatory algorithms, and made vital progress pressing authorities in the Netherlands and France to take up the cause.
PvBT member Global Witness, together with Bureau Clara Wichmann in the Netherlands and Fondation des Femmes in France, submitted four complaints to national regulators based on the suspicion that Meta’s algorithms to determine which users see certain job ads discriminate against women and breach equality and data protection laws.
The Dutch Institute of Human Rights has since held a hearing on the complaint while France’s Défenseur des Droits has written “investigation letters” to Meta demanding a response. This is the first time Meta has been questioned on the issue in the EU!
People vs Big Tech is a movement formed by more than 131 organisations
Sign the People's Declaration
Read the summary:
We, the people, demand technology that serves us, instead of putting us, our communities and our democracies at risk.
We call for an end to Big Tech’s destructive business model which has turned our own data into weapons against us.
We urge all those involved in scrutinising, passing, and enforcing legislation globally to stand on the side of the people you represent and take all necessary measures to rein in Big Tech’s abuses whilst defending people’s fundamental rights, critically - the right to free speech for all We urge all those involved in scrutinising, passing, and enforcing legislation globally to stand on the side of the people you represent and take all necessary measures to rein in Big Tech’s abuses whilst defending people’s fundamental rights, critically - the right to free speech for all.
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🚨🥳 WIN: Our incredible co-founder Tanya O'Carroll has won a legal case against Meta! She took them to court after being served creepy personalised ads about her pregnancy. Now the tech giant has agreed to no longer show her targeted surveillance-ads on Facebook. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1en1yjv4dpo
🚨 NEW: The EU Digital Services Act requires Big Tech to be more transparent about platform harms + how they're mitigating them.
So a group of us took a deep dive into their latest reports on this, and let's just say...there's a lot of room for improvement. Get into it here 👀 https://cdt.org/insights/dsa-civil-society-coordination-group-publishes-an-initial-analysis-of-the-major-online-platforms-risks-analysis-reports/
"Vance’s warning not to engage in “hand-wringing about safety” seems to have been thoroughly received by the platforms. The word “safety” appears just once in the submissions from Open #AI & Google...and not at all in Meta’s" https://www.platformer.news/ai-action-plan-submissions-meta-google-openai-anthropic/
Last night, Isr@e1 launched dozens of attacks in #Gaza. P@lestin!an officials say >320 people have been killed.
Big Tech's involvement in Isr@e1's ap@rthe!d + genoc!de goes beyond complicity. Find out more in the latest version of our free newsletter: https://blog.peoplevsbig.tech/the-people-vs-genocide/
🚨 New report alert! Going forward we want Big Tech platforms to focus on design-related risks, enhance transparency, and ensure risk assessments reflect real-world harms.
Check out the full report here 🤓👾 https://cdt.org/insights/dsa-civil-society-coordination-group-publishes-an-initial-analysis-of-the-major-online-platforms-risks-analysis-reports/
🚨 Amazing event from our collaborators on The People newsletter tomorrow @thecitizens! Sign up here 👀 https://dispatch.the-citizens.com/resisting-big-tech/
Love to see this from the excellent @eff over in the US! They've put together a directory of independent community organisations cross the United States work to support digital rights and empower their local communities 😍👾 https://efa.eff.org/pages/about
"Facebook’s owner #Meta has this year led the charge against the EU’s #AI Act...with tech lobbyists in the bloc believing they can successfully water down implementation of a law considered the world’s strictest regime over the cutting edge technology." https://www.ft.com/content/3e75c36e-d29e-40ca-b2f1-74320e6b781f
🚨 New newsletter alert! Ft. An interview with a fired Meta worker on internal censorship, overview of Big Tech's involvement in Isr*eli apartheid, the real reason the US tried to ban TikTok...and a sprinkling of hope 👀👾
Full story + subscribe link here: https://blog.peoplevsbig.tech/the-people-vs-genocide/
According to @TechRadar, the two Big Tech companies are set to come out "relatively unscathed," adding that it's possible Trump's threats to impose tariffs against countries and fine US companies may be a factor at play here. What do you think? https://www.techradar.com/pro/apple-and-meta-set-to-face-fines-for-alleged-breaches-of-eu-dma
The new head of the US Justice Department’s antitrust division unites right and left with a sceptical view of big business. She has expressed concern about market concentration and said enforcement should be focused sectors that affect Americans’ daily lives, including tech 👀 https://www.ft.com/content/769709d5-f897-497d-a8f2-ce15a3c977ed
"According to #Meta's own data, more than 300,000 accounts and pages on Facebook are posting about Cyclone Alfred. However, users who tried to learn more about it using the search term on the social media platform were coming up with empty or non-related results." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-05/meta-blocked-facebook-searches-cyclone-alfred/105013014
🚨 New: For too long, Google's monopolistic practices have undercut competition & blocked innovation. Together with Duck Duck Go, search engines, browsers, civil + consumer groups, we're calling on the EU Commission to act. The Digital Markets Act must be enforced.
We have tools, let's use 'em! 🛠️
The internet was 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 to be a space where anything was possible and everyone has an equal voice. That feels less and less true - especially on 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 platforms (owned by Tech Bro Billionaires) more than others ('decentralised' ones)
Check out The People for a deep dive on the harms of Big Tech every fortnight and check out our suggested ways to push back!
SUBCRIBE: blog.peoplevsbig.tech
#PvBT #Memes #Newsletter #LGBTNews
We'll check it out, thank you! 💗 👾
@patrickleavy 🤞 💗 👾
"#Trump was particularly outraged by the concept of digital services taxes, under which countries like the UK + Italy levy a small tax...on the local revenues of online platforms like search engines and social media services. He alleged that these laws are designed to “plunder American companies.” https://fortune.com/2025/02/25/europe-refuses-back-down-regulating-us-big-tech-trump-threats-economic-machismo/
https://fortune.com/2025/02/25/europe-refuses-back-down-regulating-us-big-tech-trump-threats-economic-machismo/
"This could suggest that #Musk’s interventions in European political affairs + senior role in Donald #Trump’s administration defunding + depopulating the US govt...are leading to a consumer backlash."
Could the B*g T*ech companies face a similar backlash?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/25/tesla-sales-europe-elon-musk-donald-trump-afd
Under new UK laws, tech companies will be asked to take action on posts that encourage #misogynistic ideas. The non-consensual sharing of intimate images (inc those created with #AI) is also covered. https://www.ft.com/content/f7dd40ea-7556-42ab-aea3-855ba112a2cc
"Together we’re rising up to build
a better digital world.''