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<i><font size="-1">Avaaz usually sends about one email per week, offering a chance to take quick action on an urgent global issue. If you received this message in error, or would prefer not to receive email from Avaaz, <a href="[link removed]">click here to unsubscribe</a> or email [email protected].</font></i><BR><BR>
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Dear friends,

We did it!!!!

Hours ago, the EU Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of the most ambitious regulation ever drafted to end the era of toxic social media.We’re still in shock.

We were up against some of the most powerful corporations in the world.But we were louder .

Donating in the thousands, flooding key decision-makers with messages, delivering powerful solutions in meetings, and publishing groundbreaking investigations showing the harms caused by Big Tech:the Avaaz community has helped shape history this week , together with other awesome groups out there fighting alongside us and brave lawmakers who decided to listen.

We’re not done yet, but if EU lawmakers stand strong in further negotiations, this could bethe first wave of a cascade of new laws all over the world that finally put people before platforms and their profits: whenever Facebook, Youtube or TikTok would harm our societies at scale - from making dangerous disinformation go viral to spreading harmful content to kids or misusing our personal data -- our democracies would be able to ensure they take responsibility.
🎉 Join the celebration by retweeting the Avaaz tweet or posting on Facebook

Social media has brought powerful innovation to our societies. But for too long they have been able to evolve with literally just one goal: maximizing their profit, even if that meant radicalizing our societies, delegitimizing science or a rise in teen depression.

Now, thanks to this regulationwhich some have called a new constitution for the Internet , we can demand a future where technologies are shaped around common values, and protect our fundamental human rights, instead of exploiting our weaknesses.

Also, with so much disillusionment around politics, this regulation has shown Europe at its best. With almost all the demands from citizens, experts and civic society organizations landing in some way in the text just voted including:Detoxify the algorithm -- make the platforms take responsibility for the harms they cause to our societies, like the viral spread of dangerous disinformation; Big sanctions -- Face fines up to 6% of their global income, yes we're talking billions of dollars here, if they don’t fix their systems; Open the black box -- Allow independent auditors, researchers and civic society to scrutinize their actions and uncover their wrongdoings; Stop surveillance ads -- Ban the exploitation of children’s data, and our political beliefs or gender choices, to target us with ads.
🎉 Join the celebration by retweeting the Avaaz tweet or posting on Facebook
For over four years Avaaz has been on the forefront of the public push to force social media platforms to tackle the harms they create. Fromthe EU ([link removed]), to the US ([link removed]), or Brazil ([link removed]), we have reported on disinformation and its scale ([link removed]), commissioning polls ([link removed])on its harmful effects, evaluating platforms' efforts ([link removed])to tackle them, and identifying their failures ([link removed]). None of this would have been possible without the Avaaz membership. It was a huge shared effort. But it paid off. And now we’re making history.

With deep excitement and determination,
Luca, Sarah, Christoph, Joana, Nadia, Andy, Rosie, Luana, Camille, Barbara, Sam and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information: Big tech’s approach to COVID-19 disinformation is flawed, campaign group says ([link removed])(Euractiv) Social networks still failing to tackle COVID-19 misinformation, report claims ([link removed])(Euronews) The People’s Declaration - a huge coalition of civic society organizations that fought with us ([link removed])Towards a Paris Agreement for Disinformation - Event organized by Avaaz with the EU Commission, MEPs and social media platforms ([link removed])How the Democracy Action Plan can become an effective tool against disinformation ([link removed])(Media Laws)

Avaaz is a 69-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here ([link removed]), or follow us on Facebook ([link removed]), Twitter ([link removed]), or Instagram ([link removed]).

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