Effective regulation of powerful platforms has become more difficult due to the change of government in the USA. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that Europe must go its own way to ensure fairness and facts as the basis for digital communication. This is not censorship - it is vital for the survival of democracy and social understanding.
Therefore, the ConPolicy Institute for Consumer Policy, together with 78 other organizations, supports the open letter from Germanwatch e.V. to the negotiators from the CDU/CSU and SPD. Because the next German government is largely responsible for maintaining democratic spaces for discourse in the digital world.
The central demands:
- Enforce existing digital rules consistently - in particular the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act and competition law.
- Supplement regulation in a targeted approach - for example with regard to the transparency of algorithms, tracking-based advertising, addiction-promoting design and interoperability obligations.
- Promote democratically controlled, common good-orientated and sovereign digital infrastructures.
You can find the full open letter here.