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1. Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 04:46:28 JST Aral Balkan

   • European Commission
   • Delta Chat

   Dear @EU_Commission, I said this at the EU Parliament but let me repeat it:

   Public funding for tech should come with a stipulation that the organisations that take (our) public funds should not then be able to take venture capital (VC) and have private capital enclose what is built with that public funding.

   Context: Delta Char (@delta), which has received public funding from multiple #EU funds, #NLNet, etc. is reportedly now considering a VC offer.

   #DeltaChat #EU #VentureCapital #VC

   • Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 04:49:19 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • European Commission
     • Delta Chat

     @EU_Commission @delta

     Sources:

     https://eldritch.cafe/@adalanerd/110125194225082714

     https://chaos.social/@compl4xx/110125221341239213

     https://delta.chat/en/help#how-are-delta-chat-developments-funded

     https://ar.al/2019/11/29/the-future-of-internet-regulation-at-the-european-parliament/

     #sources #deltaChat #NLNet #EU #publicFunding #ventureCapital #vc #enclosure

   • Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 04:57:32 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Paolo Redaelli
     • European Commission
     • Delta Chat

     @paoloredaelli @EU_Commission @delta It can be part of the solution. The main one would be a clause in the contract that says the equivalent of “by receiving this funding you agree to not take private equity for this product”.

     As I said at the EU Parliament, “why are we acting like an unpaid research and development department for Silicon Valley?” Replace “Silicon Valley” with private equity or venture capital if you want a more universal quote. The point holds.

     Public funds? Public tools.

   • Paolo Redaelli (paoloredaelli@mastodon.uno)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 04:57:33 JST Paolo Redaelli

     in reply to

     • European Commission
     • Delta Chat

     @aral
     Can using a "strong" license such as #AfferoGPL be a feasible answer to this issue?
     @EU_Commission @delta

   • Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 06:20:53 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • European Commission
     • Delta Chat

     FFS, so it was an April Fool’s joke.

     *smh* :)

     Sadly, being disappointed in folks you believed in and trusted is a feeling I’m all too familiar with in tech. Didn’t really need to feel it again tonight.

     On the bright side, says loads for Delta Chat if they feel confident enough to joke about it. So yay, I guess.

     Remember this the next time it’s some orher organisation and it isn’t a joke

     #DeltaChat #EU #VentureCapital #VC @EU_Commission @delta