Monday brief · week of 26 October 2026
Digital Freedom Fund sharpens its focus on legal strategies to curb big tech power and militarised AI while centering digital self-determination.
Written each Monday from this funder's own recent publications. Every point links to the sentence it rests on.
What they're leaning into
The fund is deepening its investment in AI and digital democracy hubs, bringing together legal strategists to exchange pre-litigation research and tactics (1, 2, 16, 17).
Emerging work targets the environmental and democratic risks of hyperscale data centres, framing them as flashpoints for big tech power and climate justice (4, 12, 13).
“environmental impacts of digital infrastructure”InterHub Gathering 2026 — Day 1 · 2026-10-28 ↗“Leitmotiv and Stichting PILP are seeking to accelerate local data centre resistance and activism, confronting hyperscale data centre development in the major digital infrastructure market of the Netherlands as a starting point.”In collaboration with the Institute for Information Law (IViR), we will be hosting our first annual in-person InterHub G · 2026-10-02 ↗Online hate speech and its amplification through recommender systems are now linked to trans rights and platform accountability, especially in Europe and Central Asia (6, 14, 15).
“amplification of hate through recommender systems”InterHub Gathering 2026 — Day 1 · 2026-10-28 ↗“We had the pleasure to participate in the 10th TGEU — Trans Europe and Central Asia Trans Council.”🏳️⚧️ We had the pleasure to participate in the 10th TGEU — Trans Europe and Central Asia Trans Council. Over three day · 2026-09-30 ↗
Framing to consider
Grantseekers might frame their work as advancing 'communities of digital self-determination,' tying legal or advocacy efforts to collective power-building and skill-sharing (7, 11).
“This year's theme, "The Origins of Future Technologies: Towards Communities of Digital Self-Determination"”Last week we were at #PrivacyCamp2026 in Brussels! 🎯💻 · 2026-10-19 ↗“A key takeaway from the session is that by building power through coalition and with generous skill and expertise exchange we can have a big impact in the lives of all people online”Last week we were at #PrivacyCamp2026 in Brussels! 🎯💻 · 2026-10-19 ↗Proposals could highlight 'pre-litigation research' or 'legal pathways' to challenge border technologies, discriminatory ID systems, or militarised AI, aligning with the fund’s emphasis on strategic litigation (3, 5, 9).