The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Leibniz Institute for Media Research – Hans Bredow Institute (HBI) and the Weizenbaum Institute (WI) invite doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to present their work at the joint Digitalisation Research Seminar – DigiMeet.
The main purpose of this interdisciplinary event is to provide a forum for early career researchers with a focus on digitalisation-related topics. DigiMeet offers opportunities for networking, discussing results and ideas, and gathering inspiration for new and ideally collaborative research projects.
Each year, our networking event addresses a topic that can be understood as a key concept in the ethical and human-centred design of digital transformation. In an increasingly platform-centred digital world, the governance of platforms has become a critical tool in maintaining and expanding a democratic digital infrastructure in the EU and beyond. At the same time, these efforts are confronted with global policy challenges, as the platform landscape is rapidly transforming. DigiMeet 2025 aims to explore the latest developments in global platform governance, focusing on the underlying power dynamics, societal implications and technological advancements that shape our policy discourse. Through the lens of four subtopics, we seek to approach the focus topic from different perspectives:
Programme
09:30–10:00 | Welcome and Introduction, Greeting by Wolfgang Schulz (Director HBI)
10:00–11:00 | Keynote by Dr. Tobias Mast, Head of the research programme “Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Online Spaces” at HBI, and member of the advisory board of the German Coordination Office for Digital Services at Bundesnetzagentur.
Track 1: Platform regulation and community building – Regulatory frameworks
(Chair: Matthias Kettemann, HBI)
- Tamás Pongó, University of Szeged (HUN): “The human rights responsibility of social media platforms – Meta and the Oversight Board”
- Sophia Salziger, University of Groningen (NED): “Balancing democratic values and accountability within the CJEU’s civil liability regime for non-material damage under Article 82 GDPR”
- Vincent Heimburg, Victorine Verlooy, Maximilian Schreieck & Manuel Wiesche, TU Dortmund (GER) & University of Innsbruck (AUT): “The Gatekeeper’s Gambit: How Platforms Strategically Adapt to the Digital Markets Act”
- Sophia Graf, WI/FU Berlin (GER): “Governing synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery on major adult platforms in the EU
Track 2: Platforms as shapers and instruments of governance – Opportunities and challenges of AI
(Chair: Tim Majchrzak, Director CAIS)
- Adrian Schadl, KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (GER): “Generative AI as the New Complementor: Transforming Power Relations and Innovation Governance in Platforms”
- A
- Nils Riekers, Marten Risius & Tong Chen, HS Neu-Ulm (GER) & University of Queensland (AUS): “Explainable Decision-Making for Hate Speech Moderation via AI Multi-Agent Systems”
- Maurice Stenzel, HIIG (GER): “Governing Moderation through Codes of Conduct: Co-Creating a Soft Law Framework for Platform Governance”
12:30–13:30 | Lunch Break
13:30 – 13:45 | Kick-Start Afternoon Sessions with Martin Krzywdzinski (Director WI)
Track 1: Platform regulation and community building – Networks and discourses
(Chair: Andreas Jungherr, bidt)
- Marcus Bösch, University of Münster (GER): “Vibes, TikTok Edits, and Audio Memes: Participatory Propaganda in the 2025 German Federal Election Campaign”
- Regina Cazzamatta, University of Erfurt (GER): “From Moderation to Chaos: Meta’s Fact-Checking Fallout—A Win for Free Speech or a Loss for Truth?”
- Lama Ranjous, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (GER): “Social Media Platforms: From Carriers of Activism to Documenting and Mediating Violence in Syria”
- Philipp Riederle, OII/University of Oxford (UK): “Digital Platform Interoperability – Strengthening User Choice, Reducing Platform Power?”
Track 2: Platforms as shapers and instruments of governance – Platforms as governance facilitators
(Chair: Annett Schulze, WI)
- Richard Uth, Julian Vangheluwe & Markus Langer, University of Freiburg (GER): “AI in Charge of Our Health – How Interaction, Autonomy, and Decision Focus Shape User Responses”
- Frederike Eulitz, Jonathan Jensen, Jörg Claussen and Tobias Kretschmer, LMU Munich (GER): “How Online Labor Markets Shape Participation Through Governance: Evidence from Upwork“
- Beltsazar Krisetya, University College London (UK): “Supporting Procedures, Avoiding Politics: Platform (Dis)Engagement in Indonesia’s 2024 Election”
- Timon Sengewald, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (GER): “Empowering Municipal Resilience: Digital Platforms for Citizen-Driven Innovation in Crisis Management”
15:30 – 16:00 | Group debate – Visions for the ideal platform of the future
16:00 | Farewell and End
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