(1978) is a political scientist, Co-Editor-in-Chief at netzpolitik.org and member of the Eurozine Board of Trustees.
Trump’s TikTok deal was a concession to Silicon Valley and a victory for cronyism. Security concerns about TikTok are well founded, but an escalation of digital-economic hostilities will not favour US tech companies and could spell the end of the open internet.
The increasing use of facial recognition software by security services introduces a new era of surveillance. With it, public anonymity can be eliminated in a stroke. So why does the recent EU white paper on AI make no reference to the democratic risks posed by the new technology?
Regulation of media platforms has become an increasingly popular response to the challenges posed by disinformation and hyper-partisanship. But does regulation set a new set of traps for free speech and media diversity? And is it even adequate to the problem?
Since 1 October 2017, it is illegal in Germany to spread hate speech online. But serious doubts exist, both about the law’s correct enforcement by internet companies, and whether it will be effective against a far-right that now uses Russian servers and social media channels.
The success of Germany’s anti-immigrant party signals a mood-swing in public debate on the refugee crisis. The solidarity expressed by Angela Merkel’s ‘We can manage’ has given way to something much less generous, writes Daniel Leisegang.
In Germany there has been heavy public criticism of the NSA. Yet the German government has failed to investigate the affair and has been quick to demand greater surveillance powers after the Paris attacks, writes Daniel Leisegang of Blätter.
As an independent, self-financing publication, Blätter is a relative exception in the journals field. So far, it has not felt the impact of recession, says editor Daniel Leisegang, who sees the big challenges in generating demand for political content and keeping pace with media change.
