Research area: Communication and Society

DigiMeet connects young researchers and promotes dialogue on the social, political and technological conditions of digital transformation. Focus for 2025: Design and regulation of digital platforms.

At “vhs.wissen live”, bidt director Ute Schmid demonstrated why trust in AI systems should be neither excessive nor sceptical. She emphasised the importance of expertise in using AI responsibly.

How do social media influence political communication? At the 2025 Medientage München, bidt Director Andreas Jungherr discussed algorithms, emotions and how digital public spheres are becoming more democratic.

BR24’s #Faktenfuchs investigates fake videos that have gone viral on TikTok. Bidt researcher Fay Carathanassis explains when false claims are punishable by law – and what limits apply to freedom of expression.

bidt Director Dirk Heckmann was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his services to digital law. With this order, the Federal Republic honours individuals whose life’s work has strengthened science and society.

The “bidt-Digitalbarometer 2025” summarises the key findings from a large-scale public survey on digital transformation in a concise and visually engaging format.

The report on the “bidt-Digitalbarometer 2025” provides comprehensive data on Germany’s digital transformation and compares it with Germany’s 2021 survey data and 2022 international data.

“The bidt-Digitalbarometer” provides population survey data on digital transformation in Germany.

How do we understand trust in AI in interdisciplinary research? This article addresses the conceptual ambiguity between different research disciplines and proposes a possible common working concept of trust in AI.

Generative AI also opens up completely new possibilities in law enforcement, including the use of deepfakes to infiltrate criminal organisations. But would this be technically possible, ethically justifiable and legally feasible?