Lecture: "Regulation of social networks: NetzDG as a fall from grace or a shining example?"

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Martin Eifert, HU Berlin

The event is part of the ITeG lecture series "Digital Society - A Design Task" at the Scientific Center for Information Technology Design (ITeG).

The Internet has (also) profoundly changed the communication space. Social media form an important new space for direct exchange between users, but have also unleashed dynamics that call into question the prerequisites for constructive discussions and violate legal interests. The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG), which has been applicable since January 1, 2018 and imposes obligations on social network operators, is a legislative attempt to prevent violations of legal interests in social networks. Since the first draft, it has been heavily criticized under constitutional and European law. At its heart is the accusation that the law will foreseeably lead to excessive deletions of posts by the operators and therefore violate freedom of expression. Two members of the Bundestag have filed a lawsuit with the Cologne Administrative Court with the aim of obtaining clarification from the Federal Constitutional Court. The lecture asks whether the NetzDG is in this sense a fall from grace in network regulation or whether it is fundamentally on the right path. Contrary to widespread criticism, it argues that the NetzDG should be continued and expanded.

Further dates in the series:

• 12.12.18, 5 p.m.: Prof. Dr. Steffen Staab (University of Koblenz): "Web Science, now more than ever: case studies on political communication in social media."
• 23.01.19, 5 p.m.: Prof. Dr. Susanne Robra-Bissantz (TU Braunschweig): " From the hand to the head to the city: Digital participation in the design of living spaces."
• 13.02.19, 5 p.m.: Prof. Dr. Steffen Mau (HU Berlin): "The metric we. On the quantification of the social."

Further information: http://www.uni-kassel.de/eecs/iteg/veranstaltungen/iteg-ringvorlesung.html