Prof. Schneider gave a lecture on “Europe’s response to the social risks of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter & Co.” as part of a public lecture series (studium generale) at the University of Freiburg called “Saturday-University” about “Resilience: Resisting forces in times of crisis“. Prof. Schneider noted that hate speech and disinformation are two much-discussed social risks that are widely associated with social media and other digital online services. Especially in times of social polarization around migration, the US presidential election, the Corona pandemic or the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter & Co. are repeatedly accused of using their recommendation algorithms to prominently disseminate even clearly illegal content. However, just as controversial are algorithm-based moderation measures by the internet giants to block so-called user-generated content or even delete user accounts. With the Digital Services Act 2022, Europe wants to strengthen its resistance to “Wild West methods” on social media. The lecture was dedicated to these new regulations: What instruments does the new law offer and does it strike a fair balance between the fundamental rights of people who are to be silenced by hate speech and those of people who want to express their opinions freely on social media?
You can watch the lecture here: https://uni-freiburg.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=7a6d3201-9d3f-4e6f-9c6d-af500085d152