Challenges of Regulating Digital Communication Platforms (ReDiKo)

Project description

Digital communication platforms offer many opportunities for public discourse and innovative business models. At the same time, there are significant risks, for instance through the exclusion of certain groups or the spread of misinformation. Furthermore, global platform providers possess considerable market power.

The project brought together communication studies and law with the aim of identifying societal needs regarding platform regulation and developing evidence-based regulatory policy options. Among other things, the project examined how communication platforms are perceived by the general public and what regulatory needs different groups have.

Interdisciplinary approaches have so far examined the balancing of copyright and user rights in the implementation process of the European copyright reform. In doing so, the project was able to highlight specific areas requiring improvement within the framework of the Copyright and Online Service Providers Act, while also incorporating the perspective of uploaders—who are particularly affected—into the discourse.

A second subproject focused on the topic of personal privacy. Three empirical sub-studies were conducted as part of this effort, the last of which was a comprehensive survey published in 2024 on the topic “Insults on Social Media: How Are Social Media Users Affected, and How Do They Defend Themselves?”. The results show that those affected still experience insults more frequently in the offline world than in the online world. When it comes to dealing with insults online, it appears that nearly one in two affected individuals has never reported an offensive online post. Lack of interest, legal uncertainty, and a sense of futility are just some of the reasons why users refrain from reporting such content.

In addition, based on the empirical research conducted in the second subproject, a statement was submitted regarding the Federal Ministry of Justice’s draft bill on a law against digital violence (in German) (GgdG-DiskE). The central recommendation of this statement was to consistently expand the protection of personal rights in the digital space, particularly through low-threshold, platform-integrated reporting and application procedures closely coordinated with the courts. At the same time, it was emphasised that far-reaching measures such as account suspensions, despite their potential, should be implemented only with particular restraint and in strict compliance with constitutional and rule-of-law requirements.

The project was completed on December 31, 2025.