Digitale Ohnmacht – Deutschland im Bann von Big Tech
Facebook, Apple, Amazon und Google – die vier großen Big Tech-Konzerne dominieren nicht nur den globalen Markt, sondern bestimmen zunehmend auch unser tägliches Leben. Die ARD-Dokumentation "Digitale Ohnmacht" beleuchtet, wie sehr Deutschland im Bann dieser Giganten steht und welche Risiken daraus erwachsen. Von der persönlichen Datensammlung über die Kontrolle der Märkte bis hin zur Beeinflussung von Meinungen – die Macht von Big Tech wächst unaufhörlich, während staatliche Regulierung kaum hinterherkommt.
Der Film zeigt auf, wie Unternehmen wie Amazon, Google und Meta mit ihren Plattformen und Algorithmen nicht nur Gewinne maximieren, sondern auch Gesellschaft und Politik massiv beeinflussen. Experten und Betroffene berichten von den Schattenseiten der digitalen Revolution, die uns Bequemlichkeit verspricht, aber unsere Autonomie schleichend aushöhlt. Eine ebenso kritische wie aufrüttelnde Analyse, die die Frage stellt: Wie können wir die Kontrolle über unsere digitale Zukunft zurückgewinnen?
Hashtags und Keywords
Hashtags
#DigitaleOhnmacht
#BigTech
#ARD
#Dokumentation
#Datenschutz
#Digitalisierung
#Google
#Amazon
#Facebook
#Apple
#Marktmacht
#Überwachung
#Algorithmen
#Meinungsfreiheit
#Technologie
#Zukunft
#Gesellschaft
#Regulierung
#Medien
#Deutschland
Keywords
ARD, Big Tech, Digitalisierung, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Datenschutz, Marktmacht, Digitale Ohnmacht, Algorithmen, Technologiekonzerne, Kontrolle, Regulierung, Daten, Gesellschaft, Internet, Dokumenation, Meinungsfreiheit, Medienkompetenz
Dokus über digitales künstliche Intelligenz Social Media, die besten Comedy-Serien
http://www.kiez-deal.de
Facebook, Apple, Amazon und Google – die vier großen Big Tech-Konzerne dominieren nicht nur den globalen Markt, sondern bestimmen zunehmend auch unser tägliches Leben. Die ARD-Dokumentation "Digitale Ohnmacht" beleuchtet, wie sehr Deutschland im Bann dieser Giganten steht und welche Risiken daraus erwachsen. Von der persönlichen Datensammlung über die Kontrolle der Märkte bis hin zur Beeinflussung von Meinungen – die Macht von Big Tech wächst unaufhörlich, während staatliche Regulierung kaum hinterherkommt.
Der Film zeigt auf, wie Unternehmen wie Amazon, Google und Meta mit ihren Plattformen und Algorithmen nicht nur Gewinne maximieren, sondern auch Gesellschaft und Politik massiv beeinflussen. Experten und Betroffene berichten von den Schattenseiten der digitalen Revolution, die uns Bequemlichkeit verspricht, aber unsere Autonomie schleichend aushöhlt. Eine ebenso kritische wie aufrüttelnde Analyse, die die Frage stellt: Wie können wir die Kontrolle über unsere digitale Zukunft zurückgewinnen?
Hashtags und Keywords
Hashtags
#DigitaleOhnmacht
#BigTech
#ARD
#Dokumentation
#Datenschutz
#Digitalisierung
#Amazon
#Apple
#Marktmacht
#Überwachung
#Algorithmen
#Meinungsfreiheit
#Technologie
#Zukunft
#Gesellschaft
#Regulierung
#Medien
#Deutschland
Keywords
ARD, Big Tech, Digitalisierung, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Datenschutz, Marktmacht, Digitale Ohnmacht, Algorithmen, Technologiekonzerne, Kontrolle, Regulierung, Daten, Gesellschaft, Internet, Dokumenation, Meinungsfreiheit, Medienkompetenz
Dokus über digitales künstliche Intelligenz Social Media, die besten Comedy-Serien
http://www.kiez-deal.de
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00The feeling that we had to make this film came to us at that moment.
00:07Donald Trump will be US President again.
00:14Present at the inauguration, a delegation of the world's most powerful tech billionaires.
00:22Elon Musk becomes one of Trump’s closest advisors for the time being.
00:26Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are donating millions to the celebration.
00:32Tim Cook from Apple is there and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
00:37The rulers of the Internet bow before the US President.
00:47Well, and we, we surrendered ourselves to them.
00:49I mean, our family photos are in Apple's cloud.
00:52Yes, and our private messages are on WhatsApp, and Instagram scans my location to show me tailored advertising.
00:58These apps really know everything about us and none of them come from Germany.
01:04But it's not just about apps.
01:05Our data is stored on US servers.
01:07Our administration, our police, our armed forces.
01:13Everyone uses US software.
01:15What happens when the few who know everything about us and have everything from us align themselves with the policies of an unpredictable president?
01:23Yes, and what does it mean for us if these people have control over social media?
01:27So about our public spaces and our digital infrastructure?
01:31My name is Daniel Annibal-Bröckerhoff and I have been working with the Internet professionally for 25 years now.
01:36First as a web designer and then as a media journalist.
01:38I am Nadia Kajduli, a journalist and reporter, and in this film I meet people who are looking for answers to all these questions and for ways out of digital powerlessness.
01:49Is Europe being blackmailed by the US?
01:51Yes.
01:53There were many meetings with Facebook, with Google, with Twitter back then.
01:59Little happened and at some point we got fed up with it.
02:02There are many people here who are simply worried that this could destroy their business model.
02:07This means that we must currently assume that all data stored on US infrastructure can be misused.
02:15If we do not become digitally sovereign in the next few years, we will have a completely different dependency.
02:21Our established industry is in great danger.
02:23Alexandra Gäse is on the move.
02:41She flies to the USA, to Washington, D.C.
02:47I'm using new technology for safety reasons because I'm hearing more and more reports of people being turned away at the border because of the content of their smartphones or because their entire identity has been read.
02:58Gäse is a digital politician in the EU Parliament.
03:02She wants to fight an almost hopeless battle.
03:05The Internet is no longer a free landscape, but is controlled by a few corporations.
03:14Alexandra Gäse is one of those who want to tame Big Tech with stricter rules.
03:19Here in Washington, she wants to promote measures like those taken by the EU.
03:30Force Big Tech to be open and fair with laws and punish them harshly when there is doubt.
03:38Especially on the democratic side and those who also have a critical view of some of the practices of these tech companies,
03:46There is great hope that the solution will come from Europe.
03:50I have been told several times that you are the ones who have it in your hands.
03:53You are the only ones who have managed to create a good law together.
03:57And now it's up to Europe.
03:59A law that will be put to the test.
04:03And the starting situation is already difficult.
04:05When Gäse visits Washington in April 2025, the US is threatening the rest of the world with a trade war.
04:13Worrying headlines.
04:14Any EU action against Big Tech could lead to further escalation.
04:22Today too, the conversation is not actually taking place in the office of this organization,
04:26but at the home of a member of the crew.
04:30For security reasons, yes, all organizations are threatened.
04:34The Trump administration has announced that it intends to use massive law enforcement.
04:39She describes this as retaliation against all organizations, especially those dealing with extremism and disinformation.
04:48And that's why people here have to protect themselves.
04:51That's why we're not allowed to record conversations in the house.
04:54The fear of unforeseeable consequences is too great.
04:57Two hours later.
05:02The mood was depressed.
05:04There were people there who had lost their jobs in the last few days or weeks from the White House,
05:09but also from civil society organisations that no longer receive funding,
05:15because the pressure on donors and funders has become so great.
05:18Nobody dares to speak here anymore because the lawyers recommend keeping silent in case of an attack
05:23Or better yet, don't say anything at all first so you don't become a target.
05:33Trump is frightening many people, not only in the USA.
05:36Since the Big Tech bosses sat in on his inauguration, many of us have felt the same way.
05:41According to a representative survey, almost half of Germans believe
05:44that Big Tech now has even more power than the EU.
05:48Yes, and this powerlessness in the face of Big Tech does not only exist on this big global political stage,
05:54These are available directly from the apps we use every day.
05:57Give it to your phone, Nadja.
05:58Why?
05:59I have to delete something there.
06:00Oh.
06:01Look here, if you're serious, everything has to come down.
06:04So you can throw away Gmail, WhatsApp too, Instagram, Facebook,
06:11Paypal too, of course.
06:12Look, this is your phone without US apps.
06:15I mean, there are alternatives to mail, like Proton or Chat Skid Streamer.
06:20But actually the whole smartphone has to go.
06:22Hey, tell me.
06:24Yes, the operating system also comes from the USA.
06:26We are now completely at their mercy.
06:28It all started so beautifully and colorfully in the digital world.
06:32And we here in Germany were at the forefront of digitalization at the beginning.
06:37The first email from the USA landed at the University of Karlsruhe in 1984.
06:44From now on, researchers can send their results across the Atlantic paperlessly.
06:48At that time, it took about a day per message.
06:54But with commercialization, the Internet is gaining momentum.
06:57AOL and Telekom bring Germany online, with prominent support.
07:01Am I already in there or what?
07:07I'm in.
07:09The web brings variety to everyday life.
07:11Between...
07:12Krasenmein or Interneten.
07:14What are you doing on the Internet?
07:15I have my own homepage, I chat.
07:18And Germans love not only surfing the Internet, but also helping to build it.
07:23In the early 2000s, the domain ending .de was the most widely used in the world after .com.
07:28There is a spirit of optimism in Germany.
07:33The Internet is also revolutionizing media companies.
07:36At that time, four Germans were among the 50 highest-revenue companies in the world.
07:41Axel Springer too.
07:43CEO Matthias Döpfner strives for digital leadership early on.
07:47Only those who do not reject progress will think things through.
07:51A few years later, in 2016, he even sent his management team to a trial course in Silicon Valley.
07:57A stylish PR video spreads startup flair.
08:00It was important to us to go to Silicon Valley and hold our strategy meeting because we have set ourselves the goal of becoming the leading digital media company.
08:15When you think of Axel Springer, most people probably think of Bild or Die Welt.
08:19The publishing house also owns the media brands Politico and Business Insider.
08:23But they are better known in the USA.
08:25Springer has long since ceased to be just a publisher.
08:28CEO Matthias Döpfner has transformed the traditional company into a digital corporation.
08:33And these include, for example, e-commerce platforms such as Idealo.
08:36But Springer is also involved in tech companies such as Stepstone, Airbnb and Uber.
08:40We meet Matthias Döpfner at the headquarters in Berlin.
08:47The CEO of Axel Springer is one of those who sees the opportunity in new technology.
08:52I still remember when I started at the FAZ as an 18-year-old and pressed why the article could not be published tomorrow, because it was already written, someone smiled at me and said,
09:08Mr. Döpfner, remember, until something has been published in the FAZ, it has not happened.
09:12So in that respect, I don't see it as entirely negative. Oh, here are the evil social media, they're ruining our good, old journalistic business model.
09:20No, if we do it right, this is also a huge opportunity.
09:24Döpfner admired Musk and his colleagues. Axel Springer even awarded him prizes. But tech CEOs also welcomed Döpfner warmly.
09:32I traveled to Berlin today to discuss with the CEO of Europe's largest news publisher.
09:40Thanks for the chat, Elon.
09:42For a long time, Matthias Döpfner has seen the good in tech bosses.
09:49Do you also believe that Big Tech has our best interests at heart in the long run?
09:54I don't believe in the big conspiracy theory that there are sinister, James Bond-like characters out there who are planning a global conspiracy and want to disempower people.
10:04I don't believe that. I believe that tech and Big Tech, as a whole, have done much more good for society.
10:10I believe that most of those who work there are also driven by good intentions.
10:15But Matthias Döpfner is not entirely uncritical of the tech bosses.
10:19More than ten years ago, Döpfner wrote an open letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
10:24In it he said something unexpected.
10:27I'm afraid of Google or we're afraid of Google, first of all let's use the taboo word that you're never allowed to use as a manager, because managers don't have to be afraid.
10:37Which I consider a somewhat childish attitude, because if you are not afraid, you cannot have a mouth.
10:42Well, I first expressed that there are many people here who are simply worried that this could destroy their business model and that it might not be good for a pluralistic media landscape, for a diversity of content, and for a diversity of competition.
10:58Döpfner rejects too much regulation and prefers competition.
11:02But that is not possible at the moment, because Big Tech strives for monopolies and thus squeezes the smaller companies.
11:07Some promising tech companies from Germany have already experienced this in the past.
11:15Once upon a time there were two social networks with a combined user base of up to 17 million.
11:21We will launch Schüler-VZ in a few minutes.
11:25In the mid-2000s, Studi and Schüler-VZ were the social platforms with the largest reach in Germany.
11:38And interest in the success story is huge.
11:41Can you earn money with Studi-VZ?
11:43Naturally.
11:44How?
11:44Yes, by selling it.
11:46For example, Mark Zuckerberg.
11:48He wants to buy the competition from the trendy volcano Berlin-Mitte off the market.
11:52But instead of merging with Facebook, the founders decided to go with Holzbrink Publishing.
11:58It didn't help, but Facebook still pushed out VZ-te.
12:03Another good idea from Germany?
12:06A digital marketplace for applications and job advertisements.
12:09A social network for your career.
12:12Xing from Hamburg.
12:13Around 40 of the 65 employees work here, from 13 nations.
12:19At www.xing.com, contacts are made using search and email functions.
12:26Founder Lars Hinries took Xing public in 2006.
12:29We wanted to go public because we are a company that is growing rapidly and now wants to expand internationally.
12:35But the timing is unfortunate.
12:37One year before Xing, the US competitor LinkedIn was founded and outperformed Xing on the international stage.
12:46Another example, please, TerraVision.
12:49In the 1990s, two Berlin inventors invented a program that allowed people to zoom from space to San Francisco, for example.
12:57Sound familiar?
12:58Google is said to have stolen it and turned it into Google Earth.
13:01At least that's what the inventors claim, but their patent lawsuit fails.
13:06They still become tragic heroes in the film.
13:09We have made one of the most important inventions of the computer age.
13:13What year was that?
13:141994.
13:16And when did Google introduce Google Earth?
13:202005.
13:21How can TerraVision and Google Earth be so absolutely identical?
13:26Every failed startup fails in its own unique way.
13:30But the fact that we don't have a German Meta or Amazon here yet has deeper structural reasons.
13:37And here are three of them.
13:39Quite a lot of money from the government.
13:40During the Cold War, the US government invested billions of dollars in the development of Silicon Valley.
13:46Precisely to be technologically superior to the Soviet Union with microchips, satellites and all that other stuff.
13:52So the whole thing was a military and a political project.
13:55And all the US governments after him also pumped a lot of money into the text line.
14:01More money from private individuals.
14:02In the US, there are simply many more venture capitalists.
14:05So people who are willing to invest their own money in startups, in new companies, because they believe that they could become big one day.
14:13In 2024, around 7.4 billion euros of venture capital flowed into startups in Germany.
14:18In the USA it was equivalent to about 193 billion euros.
14:23Measured in terms of gross domestic product, this is four times as much as in Germany.
14:27And then the university connection.
14:29Because the tech CEOs almost all went to the same elite universities, at least briefly.
14:34And some of these connections still hold today.
14:37Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, for example, two of the mega-bosses, were at Harvard.
14:41But Stanford, in particular, is truly considered a talent factory.
14:44Investor Peter Thiel, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and their founders Sergey Brink and Larry Page.
14:50As well as LinkedIn founder Raid Hoffmann.
14:52They all studied there.
14:55Just like Instagram founders Mike Krieger and Kevin Zistrom,
14:57Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk.
15:01But he was only there for two days before he quit.
15:05The universities in Germany do conduct excellent research.
15:11For example, the Fraunhofer Institute developed the MP3.
15:15But good ideas rarely lead to independent companies in this country.
15:20And what I heard again and again in the discussions was that we have to do something about this.
15:24But politicians have been promising this for ages.
15:27We are a country that built the first computer.
15:29Today we have to watch as money is made in completely different parts of the world.
15:35We need to get back from idea to product and be at the forefront.
15:38We want to become the most innovative region in the world. This is our opportunity.
15:41We can't be the cheapest provider in the world. We have to be the best.
15:45We also want to achieve prosperity with data and digitality in Germany.
15:50That is also the task in my house.
15:52And together we will create this digital economic miracle in Germany.
15:56Thank you very much.
15:57Digital economic miracle, those are really big words.
16:01But relatively little has happened, even though so much was always promised.
16:05Whether it’s setting up your own data clouds or expanding fiber optic networks.
16:09The jokes about the delay in digitalization, especially in administration, are almost as old as this fax machine.
16:16The federal government has long let its own tech industry down when it comes to digital infrastructure.
16:22But they also gave competitors from the USA free rein from the very beginning.
16:27At least that’s how Martin André sees it.
16:30The scientist conducts research in the field of digital media and has recently been speaking to audiences more and more frequently.
16:36He is concerned that Google, Meta, and Microsoft have been able to establish monopolies almost unchallenged.
16:44And they not only make you rich, but also incredibly powerful.
16:49If I build a wall around my monopoly and this monopoly is virtually unassailable,
16:55then I can exploit it economically for many years without anyone being able to do anything with it.
17:00And here, of course, we are talking about media.
17:02At the same time, I also control the digital public, and that is the foundation of our democracy.
17:08And then we realize how bad it is.
17:10And these monopolies could have been prevented.
17:13But a fatal mistake was made in the approval of the platforms.
17:17Unlike, for example, the publisher of a newspaper, social media platforms do not have to be liable for content.
17:24The main problem is that 30 years ago these companies,
17:30which later became the Big Tech corporations, enforced certain rules.
17:35A typical example is the liability privilege.
17:39Because back then they said, yes, we are just something like a network.
17:43For example, if terrorists make phone calls over a network,
17:46then of course the network is not responsible for the content.
17:48It is actually still the case today that platforms with criminal content,
17:54that is, racism, discrimination, defamation, Holocaust denial,
17:59Making money by encouraging criminal acts.
18:03And that is the fundamental mistake.
18:05And in my opinion it is quite simple,
18:07As soon as platforms make money with concrete content, they must be held liable.
18:12The question of who is now responsible for the content on social media,
18:15which came to a head in the 2010s.
18:18Because hate and fake news are increasingly becoming the focus.
18:22In 2014, Pegida took to the streets for the first time.
18:25The protest is organized on Facebook.
18:29What do I want to achieve by being against foreigners,
18:32that so many come in here?
18:34When hundreds of thousands of refugees come to Germany,
18:36Hate bubbles over from the internet
18:38and meets politicians like Walter Lübcke.
18:40The voice in this YouTube video belongs to Stefan Ernst.
18:48Four years later, he shot the CDU politician.
18:51I held it at head height, I pushed myself.
18:56But first, the Brexit vote.
18:58Trump and the AfD's entry into the Bundestag.
19:03The party has more fans on Facebook
19:05than the then governing parties combined.
19:07We will hunt them down.
19:10While right-wing populists are cheering,
19:12their opponents point the finger at social media.
19:15Have the platforms made fake news and hate speech socially acceptable?
19:18And earn money from it?
19:20In the US, Facebook is coming under pressure.
19:22The company Cambridge Analytica had scanned the profiles of users
19:26and sold to political campaigners.
19:28One of the world's first laws against hate speech on online platforms
19:35That was, attention, a lovely German word, Network Enforcement Act, or NetzDG for short.
19:40This should force operators like Facebook and Twitter to
19:43to quickly delete criminal content such as hate speech and incitement.
19:46The father of the law was Heiko Maas, who was Minister of Justice at the time.
19:50And in the Bundestag in 2017 he declared,
19:52how he intends to prevent these crimes.
19:55It's about calls for murder.
19:57It is about calls to set fire to refugee homes
20:00or commit other acts of violence.
20:02It's about threats and insults.
20:05It's about incitement to hatred or it's about the Auschwitz lie.
20:09At that time, Maas initially tried to persuade the platforms to
20:12to introduce control mechanisms voluntarily and independently.
20:15Was that too naive?
20:20There were many meetings with Facebook, with Google, with Twitter back then.
20:25And it has been discussed
20:27can the platform operators themselves do something,
20:31to curb these excesses.
20:34There were many announcements and many promises.
20:37Little happened and at some point we got fed up with it.
20:41The black-red coalition passes the law.
20:43During this time, the Minister of Justice becomes a target.
20:47The accusation is censorship and does not only come from the far right.
20:52When this law was passed,
20:54it has been called the work of the devil,
20:56that I abolish freedom of speech because of this law.
21:00Today I would say it was far too lax.
21:04In fact, the platforms tried to use fact checks and filters
21:07to first respond to the criticism.
21:09But in Trump’s second term, the tamed platforms seem to be
21:13now finally over.
21:16How do you feel about this?
21:17How did you react when you heard
21:19Musk took over Twitter, Facebook is scrapping fact checking?
21:23Well, to be honest, when I look at people,
21:28from Musk to Zuckerberg, with what reverence
21:31the new president was confronted,
21:33I can only find such people extremely embarrassing.
21:37This debate about censorship versus freedom on the Internet,
21:41They existed before Heiko Maas and they still exist today.
21:44Particularly fueled by right-wing populists and other radicals.
21:47But are the platforms really concerned about freedom of expression?
21:51The tech platforms are, so to speak, hanging freedom of expression
21:55has been right in front of us for 20 years.
21:57And it's like a pink plush bunny.
21:59And they say, look, you're getting freedom of speech for the first time.
22:04Which is nonsense, by the way,
22:06because we already had freedom of speech,
22:08before the internet existed.
22:10But that's what they show us.
22:12Why are they showing us the stuffed bunny?
22:15It's like the magician.
22:16What's interesting is what goes on behind your back.
22:19Behind their backs they install the monopolies,
22:23the network effects take hold.
22:24And who then controls the platform?
22:26The platform owners.
22:28And the platform owner, who like no other
22:31Free Speech has become his life’s work,
22:33is Elon Musk.
22:35He has made this clear again and again.
22:38We must defend freedom of expression.
22:41Freedom of expression is only crucial
22:43when it comes to statements that you don’t like,
22:45from people you don't like.
22:47Of course, it's easy when it comes to opinions you like.
22:51And with this promise, the protection of freedom of expression
22:54and democracy, Musk bought Twitter in 2022
22:58and renamed it to X.
23:00We met someone who was there at the time.
23:03Daniel Weimert was at Twitter, responsible for the contacts
23:06to the public and into politics.
23:09Today he gives us his first exclusive television interview.
23:13Weimert believes that the platform is ahead of Elon Musk
23:15was on a very good path.
23:17Hate speech and fake news have been seriously combated.
23:20But it was not only complex and expensive,
23:23It also brought little applause.
23:25And there were platforms suddenly, sometimes in such a
23:29difficult situation where they were almost stricter than states.
23:34And sometimes you sat in a room with civil society organizations,
23:37where some say you are doing far too much,
23:40and the others say you are doing far too little.
23:42And that is a very difficult balance,
23:44I think for every social media.
23:45And of course that was it for Twitter too.
23:46What is left of the platform today,
23:50as it once was?
23:53In my opinion, the platform has changed a lot,
23:56in the tone and also in the guidelines that exist,
24:01to enable free speech on the platform.
24:05I would actually say that in some ways it was a U-turn
24:08or some kind of 180-degree turn.
24:11And that we are simply experiencing a counter-model here
24:13to how it was before.
24:15Does this benefit the platform or not?
24:26Weimat says he quit because of Ile Maske.
24:29But he does not want to talk explicitly about the new leadership.
24:34Total digital dependence.
24:37We asked ourselves, how could it have come to this?
24:40So let’s summarize everything so far.
24:43So, there is no single reason why Germany has become so digitally dependent.
24:48But there is a whole bouquet of flowers.
24:51There was more risk-taking in the US.
24:53There was more venture capital.
24:55And besides, the country has an advantage as a world power anyway.
24:58For a long time, everything that came from there was almost automatically considered cool.
25:02But there are also these design flaws,
25:05that the networks did not have to take responsibility
25:08for the content published on their sites.
25:10And when the Europeans tried to get a grip on this,
25:13Yes, they failed quite miserably.
25:17At least until now.
25:21Can Big Tech still be put in chains?
25:24Alexandra Gese says yes.
25:26To prevent platforms from becoming a threat
25:28for public discourse and thus for democracy.
25:32Gese plans to speak about this at a conference in Chicago.
25:48At the conference, Gese will talk about how the EU regulates Big Tech.
25:55In recent years, Gese and her colleagues have
25:58Two far-reaching laws were passed in the EU Parliament.
26:03One is the DSA, the Digital Services Act.
26:06This is based on the content of the platforms.
26:08And it applies to providers with over 45 million users.
26:13According to the DSA, companies must disclose
26:15why certain content is displayed to users.
26:18This means they have to allow people to look into their secret algorithms.
26:22And they must remove content that is illegal in the analogue world.
26:25also take offline on the Internet.
26:28The second law is the DMA, the Digital Markets Act.
26:32The DMA targets the economic power of the big players.
26:35It's about the Champions League of tech companies.
26:38According to the law, they are not allowed to exploit their dominant position,
26:42but sometimes we have to let smaller ones go forward.
26:47In concrete terms, this means that if you search for a flight on Google,
26:51This includes not only the offers from Google itself,
26:53but also those from other booking portals shown above.
26:58The Digital Markets Act celebrates its first birthday in March 2025.
27:03Andrea Schwab is responsible for the law in Parliament.
27:07And the EPP, the conservative group in the EU Parliament.
27:12The guest of honour is the EU Commissioner for Competition,
27:14Theresa Ribeira.
27:16We are so grateful that you are celebrating with us tonight, Theresa.
27:24The question is certainly how quickly your laws will lead to fines.
27:28I can imagine that there are still further questions,
27:31But I won't list them all.
27:33I just want to welcome you, Theresa.
27:40A celebration with many question marks.
27:42Nevertheless, the DMA has not proven what it can do.
27:45Fines for competition violations
27:47The EU has not yet imposed this at this time.
27:50I think it's important to be consistent.
27:55We must defend and apply the rule of law.
27:59This is very important because sometimes people forget
28:01that the sanctions are not the cause but the consequence,
28:05if you don't do what you have to do.
28:10It's such a good idea to celebrate.
28:12Thank you.
28:13Parliamentarians from Green to Conservative have joined forces for the DMA.
28:23And just a few weeks later, the EU imposed the first fines.
28:27Apple uses its dominant market position,
28:30to drive out competition.
28:32For example, if you want to download an app,
28:34only has one way via the App Store.
28:37Too little choice, says the EU Commission
28:40and has received a fine for the first time
28:42imposed under the new Digital Markets Act.
28:46The law obliges tech companies to
28:48to open their platforms to competitors.
28:50Apple must therefore pay a fine of 500 million euros.
28:54And the Facebook group Meta also receives a penalty.
28:58Both Apple and Meta are appealing the decision.
29:01What is certain is that the fines are explosive in the trade war.
29:05And the alliance between US President and tech bosses
29:08is only becoming more stringent due to European regulation.
29:11The messages are more combative.
29:14We will work with President Trump,
29:16to defend ourselves against governments around the world,
29:19that target American companies and demand censorship.
29:22In Europe there are more and more laws,
29:25establish censorship and make it more difficult
29:27to develop something innovative there.
29:28How can we free ourselves from the dominance of US Big Tech?
29:35Do we need stricter laws to curb the big monopolies?
29:39Or more competition to make European start-ups big?
29:44We have good laws and we must now enforce them.
29:47And we must also focus on
29:49to better strengthen their own digital companies,
29:52to build your own social networks.
29:53This is a very clear message,
29:56which I also hear from my conversation partners here.
29:58We are paying close attention to what she is doing in Europe.
30:00And if you uphold democracy in Europe,
30:03then it can be strengthened again in the USA.
30:06Matthias Döpfner, on the other hand, does not believe
30:08that politics alone can cope with Big Tech.
30:11In general, I believe that regulators are influenced by the speed
30:15the changes and the complexity of the materials
30:19are fundamentally completely overwhelmed.
30:21Even the experts don’t understand this
30:23and professionals in the companies.
30:25How is a politician in Brussels supposed to properly classify and understand this?
30:30And how can one, in two or three year processes,
30:32write such rules that still apply,
30:34when they are finished?
30:36Döpfner’s political response is not stricter laws.
30:39He wants support for the tech industry.
30:42There is an incredible need for reform.
30:44And yes, the fact that there is a Digital Ministry,
30:47is definitely a gesture,
30:49that the importance of this issue is recognized.
30:52What is crucial now, of course, is how we act?
30:54Who acts how?
30:55Will this, as I said, be another empty-word event?
30:59Or are there really initiatives emerging,
31:02meet the needs
31:04and help those who can shape innovation?
31:08For all those who haven’t heard yet,
31:10Incidentally, the new federal government has for the first time
31:12an independent digital ministry was created.
31:15The new minister is a manager,
31:18namely the former head of Mediamarkt and Saturn.
31:21And he has a pretty big goal,
31:24namely digital sovereignty.
31:26The ministry aims to
31:28to make us independent on the Internet.
31:31The question now is just what this should look like in concrete terms.
31:35So it’s about Big Tech made in Germany.
31:37This is the task
31:39which the new Digital Minister Carsten Wildberger is facing.
31:43He made his first appearance in his new role today
31:46at the digital conference Republika.
31:49We urgently need alternative offers here,
31:52that work and are accepted,
31:55that give citizens a feeling of security.
31:59And our goal as the Digital Ministry is
32:02to create the framework for this.
32:04We'll talk to him later.
32:08But first, let’s talk about the high expectations placed on the new minister.
32:12I assume that people are thinking about
32:15how to actually limit the power of these tech companies.
32:18I believe there needs to be a European solution,
32:20a European counterpart.
32:22And I expect above all from Mr Wildberger,
32:24that he actually did this with his experience as a manager
32:26can also move things forward very well.
32:28Enforcement of existing regulation.
32:32Decisions based on the needs of the citizens here.
32:36We should finally put money into our hands,
32:38to promote research in AI and IT.
32:42Because this dependence on the big tech players from the USA
32:46must be broken.
32:48Germany is primarily dependent on the so-called hyperscalers,
32:52i.e. the three big US cloud providers.
32:55And that's how it happened.
32:56Back to the 90s.
32:58Bonn-Boyle Comprehensive School.
33:00Bill Gates is visiting,
33:01accompanied by then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
33:04At that time, the software developer
33:06the Henry Ford of the tech age.
33:08His Windows software triggers a worldwide hype,
33:17although the then Chancellor was still somewhat behind.
33:21I have completely different experiences than Bill Gates
33:25with computers and computer stuff.
33:28In fact, almost none.
33:30Over the years, almost the entire country
33:32on Microsoft's computer.
33:35Whether identity cards, tax returns,
33:38or medical certificates.
33:41Initially everything is still on floppy disks and hard disks,
33:44Today, mostly in huge data centers.
33:47From Microsoft, Amazon and Google.
33:50They dominate the cloud storage market.
33:52Germany also relies on US service providers.
33:55And this despite the fact that a former agent
33:57named Edward Snowden in 2013,
34:00how US intelligence agencies spy on us.
34:04To do this, they use user data from the tech crises.
34:07The federal government is angry.
34:10Spying on friends is completely unacceptable.
34:13But little changes.
34:15Germany continues to rely on Big Tech from the States.
34:18Then, in 2018, in the middle of Trump’s first term,
34:22The US Cloud Act is coming.
34:24US authorities have since been allowed to access data,
34:28stored by American companies.
34:30Even if they are located in Germany and belong to German users.
34:34The huge problem is that the Cloud Act already
34:38allowing tech companies to share data with the US government.
34:43They are even obliged to do so.
34:45And now you have to add on top,
34:48that we are currently even seeing a situation
34:50where the US government is sometimes no longer involved at all
34:52adheres to legal framework conditions.
34:54This means that we must currently assume
34:56that all data stored on US infrastructures
35:02can be abused.
35:03What the US government then has in its hands,
35:05to deactivate a kill switch on all possible levels
35:11and to either switch off our data, manipulate it, and the like.
35:18And that shows how massive the problem is.
35:20So it's not a bad idea to have our own European solutions here.
35:25Back to the Republic.
35:27While Alexandra Gese also argues for European alternatives,
35:31a message bursts in.
35:35The Bundeswehr concludes a deal with Google.
35:38A turning point on a US cloud?
35:43It's simply unbelievable.
35:45So we should have learned it by now.
35:47It's now about our safety.
35:50It’s about a company at Google,
35:53which is obliged
35:54to give this data to the American government.
35:57Because that is American legislation,
35:59which is under Google's control.
36:00And especially something as sensitive as Bundeswehr data
36:03can't be in an American cloud.
36:06While the new minister has not really started yet,
36:10new facts are created.
36:12But can we still build European alternatives?
36:16Or is everything already permeated with US tech?
36:19The minister receives a friendly welcome at the Google stand.
36:22By Sabine Frank.
36:23She wants to appease.
36:25And invites us to an interview at Google headquarters in Berlin.
36:28But now you are an American company.
36:34And if we now bring in the US Cloud Act,
36:37which states that American companies
36:39have to hand over the users' data, so to speak.
36:43Exactly.
36:43But only if we can.
36:45The cooperations look exactly like this,
36:47that the keys to unlock this data
36:49are not ours at all,
36:51but rather with the German partners.
36:52What happens is that we put our racks there,
36:57where they specify it.
36:58This isn't connected to the internet at all.
37:00This means that sovereignty goes so far
37:03that the building, the infrastructure,
37:05is not controlled by us at all,
37:07but is controlled exclusively by the service provider.
37:11Only when it is said there,
37:12Please exclude parts to install updates,
37:15this can happen.
37:17But it doesn't have to happen.
37:18The system is therefore isolated.
37:20The Bundeswehr can check Google updates before installing them
37:23or just do without updates.
37:26We asked an expert again,
37:28with Peter Ganten from the Federal Association for Digital Sovereignty.
37:32He says that clouds need regular updates,
37:35to be sure.
37:36And here there would be a risk of backdoors.
37:39So possibilities to penetrate the systems from outside
37:42and intercept data.
37:43In the worst case, install a so-called kill switch.
37:47So a kind of emergency stop switch,
37:48with which the tech crises could then affect communication
37:51or paralyze the data storage.
37:53And that's a really frightening thought.
37:56But there are also alternatives,
37:58for example, German providers of cloud services.
38:02The German alternative comes here.
38:06Next to an asparagus field is SAP's most modern cloud data center.
38:10It contains data from over 25,000 corporate customers from all over the world.
38:16The facility near Heidelberg is a high-security area.
38:22Thomas Saueressig is responsible for the cloud infrastructure.
38:26He is a board member of what is currently Europe’s most valuable company.
38:29SAP does business worldwide.
38:32How German is SAP actually?
38:34How dependent are you on the USA?
38:37The question of dependence is a philosophical one.
38:40In what form dependent?
38:41What is the dependency?
38:43They are service providers to the US military.
38:45That is already very close to the government, if not within the government.
38:49We are also a service provider to the German Armed Forces.
38:51And SAP is also a service provider for the German administration.
38:55The company provides the so-called Delos Cloud for this purpose.
38:58However, Microsoft Azure or Microsoft 365 still runs on it.
39:05Another gateway through updates?
39:08What happens here is that with every update of the Com from the Azure platform and Office 365,
39:14that these updates are checked in cooperation with the BSI,
39:17i.e. with the Federal Office for Information Security of Germany.
39:21And that means we check virtually every upgrade before we install it.
39:25And if we see something we don't like, the update won't be rolled out at that point.
39:29Can I assume that the BSI can keep up with Microsoft's high-tech whizzes and all the updates?
39:36Absolutely.
39:37So my data, which is here at the German authority, with their new Delos Cloud,
39:43How safe are they from access from the USA?
39:46100% safe.
39:47No American can access it.
39:49No President of the United States can say about the US cloud, I want access to it.
39:54Because it is completely separate at that point.
39:57This means it is 100% safe in German hands.
39:59Even? Or even though Microsoft is involved?
40:02Absolutely.
40:03OK.
40:05SAP and the federal government must therefore permanently monitor the US service provider Microsoft.
40:11Apparently, even the giant SAP is not truly independent of US tech.
40:16So let’s come to the man who is supposed to make us independent.
40:22Carsten Wildberger, the new German Digital Minister.
40:25What strategy is he pursuing?
40:27Wildberger believes that we can still create Big Tech in Germany.
40:31But we would have too many complicated rules.
40:36Regulation is one thing.
40:37At the same time, it is also a question of mindset, of attitude towards technology.
40:41And I believe we need to rediscover our love and joy for technology and innovation.
40:47Wildberger is convinced that we are at a crucial point.
40:51Artificial intelligence will change everything.
40:53And we must not miss the opportunity to get into the game now.
40:56If we do not become digitally sovereign in the next few years, we will have a completely different dependency.
41:02Our established industry is in great danger.
41:06Why is that so in my opinion?
41:07At the end of the day, it's about the question of artificial intelligence.
41:10Artificial intelligence is probably the greatest revolution that humanity has ever experienced.
41:18Perhaps comparable to the invention of fire, electricity, perhaps the internet.
41:25At the same time, if you use AI well, correctly, it leads to growth, including new jobs.
41:33You can cure diseases, you can live longer. Ultimately, everyone can program with it.
41:38I don't have to learn a programming language anymore. This is fundamental and will affect every value chain, every industry.
41:44And I don't want to imagine a world where we are just customers of this technology.
41:49You could say it's something like our last chance.
41:54What I find exciting in the end is that many of the people we spoke to are actually full of hope.
41:59But they're focusing on completely different things. Media scientist André wants a strong start and looks back.
42:05Remember what it was like when we had the Covid pandemic and suddenly we all had to have digital meetings.
42:12And that was difficult for many people at first. It was really bumpy at first, but then somehow it worked.
42:17And I believe that if we were to do that, if we were to take a bold step now, for example, at the Federal Government’s Digital Summit in December
42:25and we now switch to our own alternatives, we would learn a lot in the process.
42:29And of course it would be bumpy, but in a few years we would be independent.
42:33Matthias Döpfner, like the Digital Minister, believes in a revolution through artificial intelligence.
42:41But above all, an opportunity.
42:43He hopes for a world in which language models such as ChatGPT and Co. will compete with market leaders such as Google
42:49and there is real competition again.
42:53What can we do as a company? Honestly, just try to be at the forefront of the movements,
42:59to develop a lot yourself, to try out a lot yourself, to be really innovative,
43:03to be willing to experiment and not wait for others to develop great solutions for us.
43:08We have to do that ourselves. Perhaps we can contribute a little bit to diversity. That would be my wish.
43:12Does your saying that the fast ones eat the big ones still hold true?
43:15The fast ones eat the big ones. This is truer than ever.
43:18Size in itself is, of course, an advantage. We don't need to argue that away.
43:23But size alone isn't enough. If size slows you down, size makes you weak.
43:27And then the little ones will be faster, better, more successful.
43:30That's competition, that's the market economy. I love it.
43:34And Alexandra Gese? She's back at work.
43:40The European Commission has just finally abandoned the idea of
43:44to impose a digital tax against Big Tech.
43:47A victory for Trump and the corporations.
43:52Is Europe being blackmailed by the US?
43:55Yes.
43:57Further.
43:59Yes, on the other hand, one should never waste a good crisis.
44:03And Europe has always shown itself strong in times of crisis.
44:06That is why it is now time to stand up for Europe
44:11and to call on the European Commission, the Federal Government and the European governments,
44:15to show backbone now so that they can make our democracy strong.
44:21You could say the disadvantage is the advantage.
44:24That's the view of everyone we spoke to.
44:27And everyone has a goal.
44:30Break free from the spell of US Big Tech.
44:32Well, the downside is the downside of US Big Tech.
44:46Well, the disadvantage will be the disadvantage the disadvantage.
44:48Subtitling by ZDF, 2020
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