By Jeff Nielsen* Prior to Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a considered argument could be made that European Union sanctions were not only niche, but also somewhat impertinent. Enforcement actions for sanctions violations were meager and nowhere close to the estimated over 9,000 current cases pending in member states since 2022. Further, even after Russia’s 2014 “little green men” first invasion of Ukraine, then High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini emphasized in 2018 the EU’s firm, yet somewhat opaque, objection to the extraterritoriality of U.S. sanctions. Central to this objection are […]
Daily Archives: April 6, 2026
2 posts
By Peter Alexander Earls Davis* On 13 March 2026, Meta quietly announced that it would discontinue end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Instagram direct messages, effective 8 May 2026. The company’s stated rationale was low user adoption. The feature, introduced in December 2023 as an opt-in toggle available in select regions, had attracted few users. Meta’s suggestion? Move to WhatsApp. The announcement has drawn criticism from privacy advocates, but little attention has been paid to its significance under EU data protection law. The decision to remove E2EE is notable in itself, but just as important from a legal perspective is why Instagram […]