Dossier

The platform economy

The major platform providers have become decisive players on the internet - not only as critical information infrastructures, but also at content level. They moderate, they curate content, and block accounts based on rules they set themselves. We ask: How do private companies influence the public debate, and how can they be democratically scrutinised?

Spotlight

Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence

The EU's Artificial Intelligence Act: Should some applications of AI be beyond the pale?

Commentary

The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act aims to regulate emerging applications of AI in accordance with “EU values”. But for the most concerning of all such potential applications, the line between regulation and prohibition can be a tricky one to draw.

By Alexandre Erler

Gearing up for the Digital Decade? Assessing the enforcement mechanisms of the EU’s platform regulation bills

Background

2022 is shaping up to be a big year for European digital policymaking. The Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts as well as the Artificial Intelligence Act will reverberate beyond the EU’s borders. For the EU’s comprehensive vision for platform regulation to become reality, it will be crucial to coordinate the enforcement mechanisms of these laws.

By Amélie Heldt

“Visions for a Digital Europe 2025” Online conference

Online conference

How can we create a value-based European digital future that is innovative and internationally compatible at the same time? What influence can the EU have on the data-driven economy and digitised society through new legislative projects and further regulatory measures? These are some key questions debated at the online conference "Visions for a Digital Europe 2025", which took place on Wednesday 27 October 2021. An initiative of iRightsLab, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German Research Institute for Public Administration and the German University of Administrative Sciences.

Hate and disinformation on digital platforms

Hate and digital violence: holding platforms accountable

Event recording

Big communication platforms like Facebook, YouTube and others do little to create safe spaces for users. On the contrary, the platforms make money with hateful and divisive content, which they use to capture their user’s attention and will keep them on the platforms for as long as possible. There is no doubt about this since the latest revelations of whistleblower Frances Haugen. Women and girls - like all people affected by digital hate - are defenceless on the platforms.

By Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Digital violence against women: what needs to be done now

Event report

Every single day, women are abused, threatened or slandered on digital social networks. Yet the operators of these platforms are doing very little to make the digital space a safer place for women. The whistleblower Frances Haugen talked to Spiegel journalist Ann-Katrin Müller and Alexandra Geese, Member of the European Parliament, about what needs to be done right now to stop violence on the net.

By Ute Czylwik

Reducing disinformation and hate in election campaigns: how can we detox the debating culture?

Analysis

The German parliamentary election campaign played out on the internet as never before. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, this was certainly necessary, but it brought with it all the evils we have previously seen in US election campaigns: disinformation campaigns and hate speech were used to discredit candidates, paid political online advertising and foreign influence circumvented basic democratic values. As a woman, Annalena Baerbock the Greens' candidate for Chancellor, was particularly affected. The elections have shown that what we need, in Germany and the EU, are better media skills for the population and clear rules for communication platforms.

By Vérane Meyer and Zora Siebert

Disinformation: a threat for public discourse and freedom of expression

Event recording

Panel discussion at the "Visions for a Digital Europe 2025" conference, with: Ellen Judson, Senior researcher at CASM, the digital research hub at Demos, London, Felix Kartte, Senior Advisor Reset.Tech, Berlin, Torben Klausa, Journalist at Tagesspiegel and PhD researcher on platform regulation, University of Bielefeld, Jaana Müller-Brehm, Policy Advisor iRights.Lab, Berlin. Moderation: Zora Siebert, Head of EU Policy Programme, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Brussels

Platform regulation

Digital Markets Act: new rules for fair competition

Event recording

Panel discussion at the "Visions for a Digital Europe 2025" conference. Intro statement by Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, Professor University of Hamburg, former Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Discussion with: Ania Helseth, Strategic Policy Manager - EU Affairs, Facebook, Jeanette Hofmann, Professor Free University of Berlin and Principal Investigator WZB Berlin, Andreas Schwab, Member of the European Parliament. Moderation: Geraldine de Bastion

New rules for the digital social marketplace

Commentary

Europe is about to get a new digital law. It will change the way Google, Facebook and Amazon do business. The mechanisms that allow them to make billions are polarising society. We need robust new rules to protect our democracy.

By Alexandra Geese

Discrimination by moderation

Discrimination by moderation: How to address gender and racial bias in content moderation

Event recording

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Washington, DC offices hosted a transatlantic online discussion that addressed discrimination of LGBTIQA+ and racial groups through content moderation. Amid the EU discussion on the draft Digital Services Act (DSA) and of the US debate on reforming Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, the event presented the e-papers "The state of content moderation for the LGBTIQA+ community and the role of the EU Digital Services Act" by Christina Dinar, and "Algorithmic misogynoir in content moderation practice" by Brandeis Marshall.

By Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union

The state of content moderation for the LGBTIQA+ community and the role of the EU Digital Services Act

E-paper

Platforms can empower groups that have previously been silenced. However, platforms also host hateful and illegal content, often targeted at minorities, and content is prone to being unfairly censored by algorithmically biased moderation systems. This report analyzes the current environment of content moderation, particularly bringing to light negative effects for the LGBTIQA+ community, and provides policy recommendations for the forthcoming negotiations on the EU Digital Services Act.

pdf

Algorithmic misogynoir in content moderation practice

E-paper

Existing content moderation practices, both algorithmically-driven and people-determined, are rooted in white colonialist culture. Black women’s opinions, experiences, and expertise are suppressed and their online communication streams are removed abruptly, silently, and quickly. This paper explores algorithmic misogynoir in content moderation and makes the case for the regular examination of the impact of content moderation tactics on Black women and other minoritized communities.

pdf

Contact

Zora Siebert

Head of Programme - EU Democracy and Digital Policy, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union

Vérane Meyer

Head of Digital Policy Division, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin