The regulation of digital platforms, particularly in combating disinformation, is a highly debated issue. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently caused a controversy when he announced plans to discontinue fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram. This decision raises serious concerns that, without oversight, the platforms could be flooded with disinformation and used for propaganda purposes. Martha Stolze is focusing closely on these challenges. She is a research associate in the “Platform Alg...
Jan 31, 2025•22 min
The digital world holds the key to participation in nearly every aspect of modern life - but for people with disabilities, significant barriers remain. In this episode, we sit down with Michael Wahl, head of the German Federal Agency for Accessibility of Information Technology (BFIT-Bund), to explore how digital accessibility can bridge this divide. Drawing from his professional expertise and personal experiences as a blind person, Michael Wahl shares his thoughts on the challenges, opportunitie...
Jan 28, 2025•27 min
In this episode, we explore a particularly controversial topic: content moderation. What is content moderation? What role does AI play in this context? How do platforms decide which content is allowed? We discuss the challenges and ethical dilemmas surrounding content moderation, as well as the impact these decisions could have on free speech and public discourse. Sophie Butz and Cassandra Audibert are joined by David Hartmann, researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute to discuss these questions. W...
Jan 24, 2025•22 min
Platforms significantly impact societal fields such as politics, economics, and society at large, prompting growing efforts to regulate them. In 2024, the European Commission implemented the Digital Services Act to ensure data security, transparency, the prevention of hate speech, and the protection of human rights. In this episode of Internet Governance Explained, we speak with Rita Gsenger, a researcher on platform regulation at the Weizenbaum Institute. She shares her insights, offering a dee...
Jan 24, 2025•23 min
In today’s digital world, it is almost impossible for social media users to not stumble upon influencers and influencer marketing. However, the regulations and laws surrounding them are still undefined, which can cause ambiguity and confusion for users. What are influencers and influencer marketing, and how can they be regulated? Who is responsible for these regulations? In this episode, Caroline Ritchie and Claudia Paneque Marrero talk with Ruvimbo Musiyiwa M.A., communication scholar from Cana...
Feb 05, 2024•15 min
With the rising popularity of AI tools such as Chat GPT and Midjourney, the first effects in the creative industry are noticeable. Declining amounts of commissions and people losing their jobs are just the tip of the iceberg. In this episode, Fabrice and Katrin talk with Melanie Hölscher, also known as Mahou.Shoujo or Meri on social media, about her experiences with AI as a fashion designer and freelance artist. Diving deeper into the topic, we discuss trends and shifts in the world of art due t...
Feb 01, 2024•34 min
Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental human rights. However, it does not imply that one can express any opinions or ideas. Particularly on social media, the rise of hate speech is a growing concern. In this episode, Margarita Popova and Paul Schochow talk with Lena-Maria Böswald, advocacy manager at “Das NETTZ”, about the challenges of balancing the preservation of free speech with the need to regulate hate speech. To learn more about “Das NETTZ” feel free to take a look at the following l...
Jan 30, 2024•29 min
Since Twitter's transformation into X, as announced by Elon Musk in October 2022 with his tweet "the bird is freed," the platform has undergone significant changes. How do these developments affect users as well as research conducted on this social media platform? In this episode, Rita Gsenger and Jasper Hendrickx talk with Felix Gaisbauer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin. They discuss the new challenges faced by researchers and examine the implications of the pla...
Jan 30, 2024•33 min
What role do online platforms play in storing and forming our individual and collective memories? Lena Mackuth and Fleur Renkema talk with Dr. Rik Smit from the Universty of Groningen about his research on the platformization of memory to figure this out. We dive into what platforms are, the power they have, and the ethical questions behind the outsourcing of the storage of our memories to online platforms. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of regulating the platformization of memory and th...
Jan 28, 2023•20 min
In this episode we interview Daniel Moßbrucker, journalist and security trainer for journalists. Daniel focusses on surveillance, data protection and internet regulation. We ask Daniel about the problems journalists are facing in regards to cybersecurity, examples of security breaches and about his investigation of the use of the dark web by paedo-criminals that was the subject of his 2021 documentary on forums used by paedo-criminals to share harmful content. We also asked Daniel about measures...
Jan 28, 2023•30 min•Ep. 12
Caroline Kellerbach and Anna Absolonová talk about digital inequalities and NFTs with Dr. Matthieu Nadini, data scientist from the University of London. Users worldwide are increasingly interested in how digital art and other digital items can be bought or sold. Theoretically, NFTs trading can be done by everyone. However, there is only a small group of people who are engaged in the process, while the rest of the population still does not participate in this activity. In this episode, we discuss...
Jan 28, 2023•19 min•Ep. 11
What is Artificial Intelligence? How can it impact our societies and guide our actions? Why are ethics and principals necessary to help steer its development and usage? How is AI autonomously mediating issues of freedom of expression online? How should AI be governed, and by whom? In this episode, Vanessa and Halil are joined by AI expert Prateek Sibal, specialist consultant of UNESCO’s Digital Innovation and Transformation section, as they explore these questions and look ahead to the role AI c...
Feb 09, 2022•33 min
In 2021, Frances Haugen revealed the so-called “Facebook Files”, which fueled controversial discussions on platforms as powerful entities - not only in shaping societal discourse. What makes them so powerful and what are the most effective regulatory solutions for a “platform society”? Do ordinary Internet users have a possibility to call platforms to account and make a change? Anna Schild and Carlo Backes discuss these and other questions with Michael Seemann, media scholar and author of the bo...
Feb 02, 2022•20 min
In this episode, Hernan Funes & Valeria Tsoy explore the digital world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and discuss among other things the challenges of regulation of this new technology as well the ecological aspect of its production. Their guest is Dr. Lennart Ante, co-founder of the Blockchain Research Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent science and research on blockchain technology. In the podcast we mention Memo Akten, an artist and creative technologist based in London...
Feb 02, 2022•14 min
What is hate speech and how can it be regulated in online communication? In this episode, Francesca Elsey and Kyara Durlinger talk with Christian Strippel, researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society. The communication scholar shares his thoughts on hate speech regulation and tells about the outcomes of the NOHATE project that aimed to develop methods and software for recognition of hateful communication and potential strategies for de-escalation of aggressive speech. Relate...
Feb 02, 2022•34 min
Even though blockchain technology is on everyone’s radar, there is still a lot of confusion and lack of clarity about how blockchain technology actually works and how it could be useful not only for the general public but also for the field of internet governance. In this episode we talk to Moritz Becker, researcher in the research group "Trust in Distributed Environments" at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin. We discuss the concept blockchain as well as its practical implementation in so-calle...
Feb 02, 2022•19 min
Once hailed as a liberating, democratizing technology, social media platforms are now controversially discussed as potential threats to democracy and freedom of expression. Where does freedom of opinion end, and at what point do we talk about censorship? How should users be protected and from whom? To what extent may platforms intervene, and do we need additional state regulation? In this episode, Johanna Palla and Ann-Kathrin Rust discuss the most burning questions with the platform governance ...
Feb 08, 2021•19 min
In this episode, Valentyna Koenig and Viktor Illmer talk about net neutrality with Thomas Lohninger, executive director of the digital rights NGO epicenter.works. “Net Neutrality is the principle that makes the internet a universal medium,” says Lohninger – but what exactly do we mean by it? How does it affect us as individual users and what is the current state of net neutrality in the world? Also, why has raising these questions become especially important during the pandemic?
Jan 28, 2021•27 min
In this episode, Tien-Chi Lu and Alexander Wagner set out to investigate the concept of security of messenger apps. Living in modern and hyper-connected societies, we are confronted on a daily basis by questions such as: what does “secure” mean? And from whom? Is there such a thing as an entirely private or secure messenger app? How does the new WhatsApp update affect users worldwide? Can we trust the messenger apps’ claims to be secure? Our guest expert from the Weizenbaum Institute for the Net...
Jan 28, 2021•16 min
How does China manage to develop a flourishing digital economy under authoritarian rule? Is the country’s approach to internet governance sustainable over time? What are the main challenges to China’s cyber sovereignty? And what is on China’s internet governance agenda in 2021? John Lee, Senior Analyst from the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), discusses with Polina Andreeva and Carolina Acevedo Gonzalez China’s approach to internet governance and gives his expert insights into stre...
Jan 28, 2021•19 min
What is individual cybersecurity? What are the dangers of data collection? How can apps help sensitize users in terms of data security? Why are independent organizations for consumer protection and cybersecurity, such as Netzpolitik and Chaos Computer Club e.V. (CCC), important for internet governance? And what can users actively do to stay safe on the internet? Noah Schlegel, a developer of privacy friendly apps, talks to Christine Laqua und Christa Ohlenholz about the challenges and importance...
Jan 28, 2021•15 min
