10 3 / 2021 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS
“ Our report pleads for new laws ”
Leopoldina member Johannes Buchmann discusses digitalisation and democracy
Together with acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering and the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities , the Leopoldina published a statement on digitalisation and democracy and organised a symposium with the National Academies of Israel and the USA . Leopoldina member and computer scientist Johannes Buchmann from the Technical University of Darmstadt about both projects .
The big internet platforms have been facing criticism for a while . What does science have to contribute to the debate ? Johannes Buchmann : First , we wanted to use our expertise as scientists to investigate whether the criticism is really valid . And second , our report is not only about criticism , but also about the opportunities that digitalisation offers for democracy . Based on this analysis , we have made some recommendations for political action .
You also organized a symposium with the academies of science from the U . S . and Israel – both very tech-friendly nations . What was your colleagues ’ position ? Buchmann : Their contributions were even more critical than ours . For example , Cynthia Dwork from Harvard said : the boat is sinking , we ’ re just trying to put a few lifeboats in the water . We take these concerns seriously and propose some promising solutions .
The appearance of new media always raises criticism and skepticism . When television was introduced in Germany , it was considered so dangerous and manipulative that private TV stations weren ’ t allowed at all . The internet has been allowed to run virtually unregulated for 25 years . Is now the time to tighten the legal reins ? Buchmann : We need to look at the curation strategies of the platforms , that is , the selection algorithms for the news you get to see , because there is a conflict
Johannes Buchmann : Co-speaker of the “ Digitization and Democracy ” working group and Member of the Scientific Committee for the “ Digitization and Democracy ” Symposium . Image : Katrin Binner
between the goal of informing people as well as possible and the attention-driven economics of the platforms which may favor sensational or even fake news . We don ‘ t want to impose reins , but we want to create democratically legitimized supervisory bodies for the platforms . Similar to the broadcasting councils that have existed in Germany for a long time .
Those suggestions are targeted towards European lawmakers . Will it impress American companies that operate internationally ? Buchmann : We can see from the European General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) that our regulations have an international impact , whether you like them or not . This was also confirmed by the international partners at our symposium . What the Europeans do is not irrelevant .
And the General Data Protection Regulation is not sufficient to enforce the transparency of the algorithms in social media ? Buchmann : Our report pleads for new laws , in particular the establishment of these independent oversight boards . These boards can and should look at the algorithms that the platforms use – and then decide whether they have to be made more democracy-friendly .
You also call for German public broadcasters to be allowed to be more active on the Internet . The publishers of print media won ‘ t like to hear that . Buchmann : Public broadcasters are a gigantic resource , not just because they have money . They are also an authority for reliable information and must be allowed to expand their digital footprint .
The platforms ‘ user data can be very interesting for science , for example for sociologists . You demand that the social networks make these data available . Facebook has had a procedure to share its user data with scientists for some years now – what are the experiences ? Buchmann : My colleagues who have had experience with Facebook ’ s procedure find it completely unsatisfactory . Especially because Facebook and the other platforms make the rules themselves . Given the importance of this kind of research for democracy , society must have a say in who has access to these data .
What are the opportunities that digitalisation offers for democracy ? Buchmann : There are a lot of great initiatives . For example the Open Data community which advocates for open access to important public data , or journalistic initiatives that work to inform and educate us . These developments need to be supported in a systematic fashion . Digitalisation is indispensable for democracy .
■ THE INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED BY CHRISTOPH DROESSER
Joint Statement “ Digitalisation and Democracy ”
Symposium “ Digitization and Democracy ”