Internet Governance Explained

In this episode, we explore a particularly controversial topic: content moderation. 

What is content moderation? What role does AI play in

Sophie Butz and Cassandra Audibert are joined by David

For further information about the topic and his work

Hartmann, D., Oueslati, A., Munzert, S., Staufer, D., Pohlmann, L., & Heuer, H. (2025). Lost in moderation: How commercial content moderation APIs over- and under-moderate group-targeted hate speech and linguistic variations. Paper accepted for presentation at the CHI 2025 Conference, April

Hartmann, D., Oueslati, A., & Staufer, D. (2024). Watching the watchers: A comparative fairness audit of cloud-based content moderation services. Paper accepted for presentation at the EWAF 2024 Conference, February 2025.

Data workers worldwide report on their workplaces: https://data-workers.org/#Inquiries

Platforms significantly impact societal fields such as politics, economics, and society at large, prompting growing efforts to regulate them. In 2024, the European Commission implemented the Digital Services Act to ensure data security, transparency, the prevention of hate speech, and the protection of human rights.

In this episode of Internet Governance Explained, we speak with Rita Gsenger, a researcher on platform regulation at the Weizenbaum Institute. She shares her insights, offering a deeper understanding of the legal frameworks for governing digital platforms.

In today’s digital world, it is almost impossible for social media users to not stumble upon influencers and influencer marketing. However, the regulations and laws surrounding them are still undefined, which can cause ambiguity and confusion for users. What are influencers and influencer marketing, and how can they be regulated? Who is responsible for these regulations? In this episode, Caroline Ritchie and Claudia Paneque Marrero talk with Ruvimbo Musiyiwa M.A., communication scholar from Canada. Ruvimbo's work centers on influencer marketing, exploring potential approaches for its effective regulation.

With the rising popularity of AI tools such as Chat GPT and Midjourney, the first effects in the creative industry are noticeable. Declining amounts of commissions and people losing their jobs are just the tip of the iceberg. In this episode, Fabrice and Katrin talk with Melanie Hölscher, also known as Mahou.Shoujo or Meri on social media, about her experiences with AI as a fashion designer and freelance artist. Diving deeper into the topic, we discuss trends and shifts in the world of art due to AI, conversations happening between artists and how to better protect them from having their art stolen for AI generators such as Midjourney.

Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental human rights. However, it does not imply that one can express any opinions or ideas. Particularly on social media, the rise of hate speech is a growing concern. In this episode, Margarita Popova and Paul Schochow talk with Lena-Maria Böswald, advocacy manager at “Das NETTZ”, about the challenges of balancing the preservation of free speech with the need to regulate hate speech.

To learn more about “Das NETTZ” feel free to take a look at the following links: https://www.das-nettz.de/,

If you are experiencing hate speech, support can be found here: https://hateaid.org/

Since Twitter's transformation into X, as announced by Elon Musk in October 2022 with his tweet "the bird is freed," the platform has undergone significant changes. How do these developments affect users as well as research conducted on this social media platform? In this episode, Rita Gsenger and Jasper Hendrickx talk with Felix Gaisbauer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin. They discuss the new challenges faced by researchers and examine the implications of the platform’s transformation for democracy and public

What role do online platforms play in storing and forming our individual and collective memories? Lena Mackuth and Fleur Renkema talk with Dr. Rik Smit from the Universty of Groningen about his research on the platformization of memory to figure this out. We dive into what platforms are, the power they have, and the ethical questions behind the outsourcing of the storage of our memories to online platforms. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of regulating the

In this episode we interview Daniel Moßbrucker, journalist and security trainer for journalists. Daniel focusses on surveillance, data protection and internet regulation. We ask Daniel about the problems journalists are facing in regards to cybersecurity, examples of security breaches and about his investigation of the use of the dark web by paedo-criminals that was the subject of his 2021 documentary on forums used by paedo-criminals to share harmful content. We also asked Daniel about measures individual users can take to better protect themselves in the digital sphere.

Trigger Warning: This podcast mentions pedophilia.

Caroline Kellerbach and Anna Absolonová talk about digital inequalities and NFTs with Dr. Matthieu Nadini, data scientist from the University of London. Users worldwide are increasingly interested in how digital art and other digital items can be bought or sold. Theoretically, NFTs trading can be done by everyone. However, there is only a small group of people who are engaged in the process, while the rest of the population still does not participate in this activity. In this episode, we discuss the social consequences of the NFTs economy.

What is Artificial Intelligence? How can it impact our societies and guide our actions? Why are ethics and principals necessary to help steer its development and usage? How is AI autonomously mediating issues of freedom of expression online? How should AI be governed, and by whom? In this episode, Vanessa and Halil are joined by AI expert Prateek Sibal, specialist consultant of UNESCO’s Digital Innovation and Transformation section, as they explore these questions and look ahead to the role AI could continue to play in our lives, services, and cities.

Sources:

Gebru, T., Morgenstern, J., Vecchione, B., Vaughan, J. W., Wallach, H., Iii, H. D., & Crawford, K. (2021). Datasheets for datasets. Communications of the ACM, 64(12), 86-92.

Taeihagh, A. (2021). Governance of Artificial Intelligence. Policy and Society, 40(2), 137-157.

Zhang, B. et al. (2021). Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence. The Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 71, 591–666.

Russell, S. J. (2019). Human compatible: Artificial intelligence and the problem of control.