Christian Katzenbach at the press conference on "Regulierung sozialer Medien und Tech-Giganten"

In recent weeks, proceedings and high fines against tech companies have caused a stir. In a press briefing, Professor Dr Christian Katzenbach sheds light on whether this points to stricter regulation.

In recent weeks, numerous developments regarding ongoing proceedings and high fines against tech companies and social media have made headlines. In the USA, the first court rulings on Google’s monopoly status have now been issued. In the EU, the first penalties have been imposed under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and some proceedings are also underway on the basis of the Digital Services Act (DSA). In a press briefing of the Science Media Center, ZeMKI member Professor Dr Christian Katzenbach discusses what these proceedings mean and whether they might lead to stricter regulation of such companies.

Most of the major tech providers and social media platforms are affected by the current proceedings. The EU Commission recently fined Meta 200 million euros on the basis of the DMA. The reason for this is that users of Facebook and Instagram only have the choice between a paid subscription or a free model in which personal data is used to personalize advertising.

Tiktok, on the other hand, was fined 530 million euros in the EU for data protection violations and the transfer of data to China on the basis of the General Data Protection Regulation. And various proceedings are currently underway against platform X (formerly Twitter) on the basis of the DSA. These include the fact that X hardly passes on any data to researchers, does not create enough transparency with advertisers and misleads users with the blue tick: The blue tick once meant on Twitter before Elon Musk took over that an account had confirmed its identity and was therefore demonstrably the person it claimed to be. Under Elon Musk, however, it was quickly repurposed and now indicates who has taken out a subscription for “X Premium”.

Proceedings are also increasing in the USA: There are already judgments against Google on the grounds of an unlawful monopoly in online searches and advertising. Antitrust proceedings are also underway against Meta, in which courts are investigating whether the company has created an illegal monopoly by purchasing the former competitor products Whatsapp and Instagram.
The outcome of many of the proceedings is still unclear. In most cases, the tech companies concerned want to appeal. But it looks as if they will gradually have to face greater regulation.

What other processes are currently underway? Where do they stand and what is likely to happen next? Is it noticeable that the regulation of large tech companies is increasing? And why is that? Is the social perception of these companies also changing? What is changing in their approach? And how are companies reacting to the attempts at regulation?

These and other questions will be discussed in the press briefing that can found here in its full length.

Experts in the press briefing:

• Professor Dr Christian Katzenbach, Professor of Communication and Media Studies, and Head of the “Platform Governance, Media, and Technology” Lab at the Zentrum für Medien-, Kommunikations- und Informationsforschung (ZeMKI), University of Bremen
• Professor Dr Matthias Kettemann, Head of the research program “Regulatory Structures and Rule Formation in Digital Communication Spaces”, Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans Bredow Institute (HBI), and University Professor for Innovation, Theory and Philosophy of Law, University of Innsbruck, Austria
• Professor Dr Christiane Wendehorst, Professor of Civil Law and Deputy Director of the Institute for Digitalization and Law, University of Vienna, Austria, and President of the European Law Institute