German media policy is facing upheaval and the federal government is shifting up a gear in the regulatory debate surrounding Big Tech companies. According to a draft law that is intended to oblige video-on-demand providers active in Germany to make local investments, the main focus is now on maintaining traditional press diversity. Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer (independent) underlines the urgency of these projects in an interview with Welt am Sonntag. Above all, he is looking for ways to contain large online platforms such as Google, whose market power is increasingly putting the independent media landscape under pressure.
Read more after the ad
According to Weimer, a key element of Weimer’s offensive concerns the economic imbalance between the creators of journalistic content and the global aggregators. The big platforms skim off enormous advertising revenue and benefit greatly from reliable, well-researched news, he complains in the interview. However, they do not adequately contribute to the refinancing of this editorial effort.
In order to end this situation, the former publisher wants to vigorously push forward the concept of a platform levy. The preparatory work for the digital levy that large streaming platforms are supposed to pay is already well advanced: “There is a Federal Council resolution,” Weimer refers to an initiative by the state chamber in December. He also sees “good parliamentary chances” that the project will meet with broad approval. The ex-Welt editor-in-chief emphasizes the ambitious goal of finalizing the law this year in order to ensure that media companies have a fair economic perspective again.
Expropriation and Europeanization of TikTok
The State Secretary formulates his demands even more clearly when it comes to the protection of minors and data sovereignty with a view to the social media platform TikTok. Instead of simply relying on lengthy regulatory processes, Weimer calls for a real realignment and raises the question of ownership. It is still completely unclear where the highly sensitive data of millions of European young people goes and to what extent Chinese authorities can access it. The most effective method of enforcing European standards in data protection and youth protection as well as in media law is therefore to sell the European business.
Weimer makes it clear that Europe must make the same resolute claim as the USA and immediately begin direct discussions with the previous owners of the Chinese parent company ByteDance. It is about creating an independent “TikTok Europe” that is completely “in European hands”. To do this, it is important to quickly attract private investors from Europe who could financially support such a multi-billion dollar project. Such a project does not allow for any delay but requires immediate action by European politicians.
Beyond the regulatory issues, the media maker is concerned about the increase in aggression in social and digital discourse. Anyone who takes strong positions in public today quickly finds themselves exposed to personal attacks. Nevertheless, this situation should not lead to withdrawal. The bourgeois milieu remained silent for far too long and mistakenly considered the dangerous polarization to be a harmless fringe phenomenon.
Read more after the ad
(nen)
