Alexander Hohlfeld
@alhohlfeld.bsky.social
Digitalisation & Society | Digital Policy | Recommender Systems | Freedom of Speech | 🗣️: 🇬🇧 / 🇩🇪 | https://linktr.ee/al.hohlfeld
🚨New Science Advances🚨 Untrustworthy sources on Facebook and Instagram in 2020: Concentrated exposure but no attitudinal effects www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... -Exposure very low but highly concentrated -Reducing exposure by ~70% for months had no measurable effects *even among frequent consumers*
EU Commission plans for social media restrictions: -Phased access to social media+ paired w/ age verification -Safety by design -Parental controls & digital literacy -States may add restrictions for 13+ The report barely discusses the impact on fundamental rights. FoE is not mentioned once.
Alle Angriffe auf Journalisten sind Angriffe auf die Pressefreiheit. (Dass man das überhaupt noch schreiben muss.)
Auch ein Angriff auf rechte Berichterstatter ist ein Angriff auf die Pressefreiheit. Es ist schwer erträglich, darauf hinweisen zu müssen, aber anscheinend ist es leider keine Selbstverständlichkeit. Mein Text zu Erfurt, „Apollo News“, „Widersetzen“ etc: www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/erfur... (€)
Angriff auf Journalisten von „Apollo News“ in Erfurt: Auf die Fresse
Journalisten des rechten Online-Mediums werden bei Anti-AfD-Demonstrationen attackiert. Die Aufregung darüber hält sich auffällig in Grenzen.
sueddeutsche.de
Age assurance mandates to limit children's social media access are a sea change in Internet policy, with profound implications for rights online. New from GNI: key learnings from our May learning discussion. 🔗 globalnetworkinitiative.org/examining-th...
Examining the rights implications of age assurance requirements - Global Network Initiative
More than 40 countries are moving to restrict children's access to social media - a sea change in Internet policy with profound implications for privacy and expression. GNI convened experts to unpack ...
globalnetworkinitiative.org
Satz ohne „Zwar“, „Auch wenn” und „Unabhängig davon“: Die gewalttätigen Angriffe auf Reporter von Apollo News und der Jungen Freiheit am Rande des AfD-Parteitags in Erfurt sind unerträglich, inakzeptabel und ein krimineller Angriff auf die Pressefreiheit. www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/demo...
Demonstranten verfolgen rechte Reporter: Mehrere Journalisten offenbar bei Protesten gegen AfD-Bundesparteitag verletzt
Ein Reporterteam des Portals „Apollo News“ sei von Demonstranten attackiert worden, berichtet das Portal. Auch Journalisten der „Jungen Freiheit“ sollen angegriffen worden sein.
tagesspiegel.de
"People worry about what these technologies will do to work, to children, to politics, to privacy, and to society itself. Those fears are understandable. [...] What worries me is that fear has a way of making old mistakes look like new solutions" 💯 eternallyradicalidea.com/p/nico-perri...
Nico Perrino on the most important free speech fight since the birth of the internet
The fight over social media and AI is really a fight over whether free speech will survive the digital age
eternallyradicalidea.com
The road to hell is paved with good intentions – and the road to the end of the open internet may well be paved with debates about protection of minors. Once introduced and enforced, it is easy to deny certain groups of people or individuals access to social media
Access Denied. Age Verification as a Blueprint for Digital Control?
Why Age Verification and Social Media Bans Do Not Protect Minors But Threaten Civil Liberties
alhohlfeld.substack.com
One reading of the US government‘s restriction on foreign-national access to Claude's Fable 5 is that public focusing events and risk-centered discourse on AI create opportunities for restrictive regulation. www.anthropic.com/news/fable-m...
Statement on the US government directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5
The US government has issued an export control directive to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States.
anthropic.com
"In the name of safeguarding democracy, open societies are importing the policies of authoritarian regimes they rightly identify as enemies of free expression" @mchangama.bsky.social www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/end-o...
The End of the Open Internet
Europe lost the plot on online speech.
foreignaffairs.com
"Eintritt verweigert, Zugriff erweitert. Altersverifikation für soziale Medien: Blaupause für digitale Kontrolle?" Freue mich eine Gastbeitrag für @machine-vs-rage.net beigetragen zu haben in dem ich eindringlich vor der Einführung verpflichtender Altersverifikation für soziale Medien warne
Machine Against the Rage@machine-vs-rage.net · 2mo agoAltersverifikation für soziale Medien – Jugendschutz oder Blaupause für digitale Kontrolle? Für die Op-Ed-Sparte des MATR-Blogs hat @alhohlfeld.bsky.social über die Probleme einer Altersprüfung für Social Media geschrieben. So etwa das Risiko, dass der Anwendungsbereich schleichend erweitert wird.
The excessive targeting of government critics in Germany in the name of combating “hate speech” is unworthy of a liberal democracy. Harsh criticism of those in power must not trigger criminal proceedings or result in penalties for citizens. www.welt.de/politik/deut...
Mehrere Verfahren: Beleidigung von Merz unter Facebook-Post – Gericht verhängt hohe Geldstrafe für „Lügenfritz“ - WELT
Ein Monatsgehalt Strafe für die Bezeichnung „Lügenfritz“ für Friedrich Merz unter einem Facebook-Post – dieses Urteil erging im März, wie jetzt bekannt wurde. Doch das war nicht alles. Mit 39 Kommenta...
welt.de
📢 Calling all UK online safety practitioners and enthusiasts I've created a free two-part introductory course on the UK Online Safety Act, as a starting point for lawyers, public affairs practitioners, or frankly anyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of the OSA and its implementation by Ofcom.
There is tremendous global momentum behind today's efforts to age-gate the internet. The momentum is so strong and rights of young people so underappreciated that the conversation readily shifts to "how can we do this and protect privacy?" instead of "why do this?" I will keep trying to stop it. 7/7
A tribe’s collective stupidity is proportional to its demand for purity. The more closely a group must agree, the more must be trimmed from each brain to make it fit.
"Doch sollte unser Problembewusstsein nicht davon abhängig sein, wen es gerade zufällig „trifft“. Der „Kampf“ für die Demokratie verkommt schnell zu einem Kampf gegen die Demokratie, und dies unabhängig davon, gegen wen er sich richtet"
AfD-Verbotsverfahren: Trugschluss der wehrhaften Demokratie
Die Waffen der wehrhaften Demokratie taugen nicht für politische Kurzschlüsse. Wer sie vorschnell zieht, könnte den Rechtsstaat eher treffen als dessen Gegner.
faz.net
I'm delighted to join the academic constituency of @thegni.bsky.social as an individual expert. GNI’s multistakeholder forum serves as an important bulwark for freedom of expression and privacy in the tech sector. It is a great honour to contribute to this mission.
Global Network Initiative @thegni.bsky.social · 5mo agoWe’re excited to welcome three new academic members to GNI: @alhohlfeld.bsky.social , Daniel Arnaudo, and Jen Weedon, each bringing valuable expertise to our work on human rights, platform governance, and AI accountability. Read more here: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-welcomes...
The internet radically expanded freedom of speech— but since then all we've been talking about is the risks. At our #FreeSpeechSummit2025, @celeup.bsky.social Director Agustina Del Campo explains why we need to redirect the conversation.
6246 criminal charges under Germany’s highly controversial offence of insulting politicians were filed in 2025 alone, an all-time high and a troubling signal for freedom of expression. www.stern.de/politik/poli...
Sie nannten ihn Pinocchio
Wer Politiker beleidigt, muss hierzulande schnell mit einer Anzeige rechnen. Greift der Staat im Kampf gegen Hass zu stark in die Meinungsfreiheit ein?
stern.de
"Social media democratised public opinion, shifting influence away from elites and experts to ordinary people. LLMs will partly reverse this trend. They are a powerful, new technocratising force" @danwphilosophy.bsky.social www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/how-ai-wil...
How AI Will Reshape Public Opinion
Social media democratised public opinion, shifting influence away from elites and experts to ordinary people. LLMs will partly reverse this trend. They are a powerful, new technocratising force.
conspicuouscognition.com
[jetzt auch hier] Ich hatte jetzt mal Zeit, in die Inszenierung von Milo Rau am Thalia Theater in Hamburg reinzuschauen. Beim zufälligen Reinzappen fiel mir folgende 👇 Szene aus der „Vernehmung“ des „Zeugen“ Feroz Khan auf, einem jungen deutsch-pakistanischen Influencer, der für die AfD wirbt. /2
New Year, same story: "The accused were summoned or visited by the local police stations, and evidence was secured from their smartphones. In some cases, searches were also carried out." (25.02.2026) www.bka.de/DE/Presse/Li...
bka.de
Alexander Hohlfeld@alhohlfeld.bsky.social · 10mo agoGerman “hate speech” laws are already troubling, but their enforcement has become alarmingly disproportionate, unconstitutional, and incompatible with a free society. When investigation becomes punishment, the rule of law itself is at risk. Check out my latest blog post at @futurefreespeech.org
Ein Rentner aus Heilbronn hat Friedrich Merz auf Facebook scherzhaft als „Pinocchio“ bezeichnet – mit langer-Nase-Emoji. Und jetzt ermittelt laut „Heilbronner Stimme“ offenbar die Kriminalpolizei wegen #Beleidigung (§ 188 StGB). #schwachkopf
Kanzler Merz als „Pinocchio“ bezeichnet? Ermittlungen gegen Heilbronner wegen Beleidigung
Auf der Facebook-Seite der Heilbronner Polizei schreibt ein Nutzer in Bezug auf den Besuch von Friedrich Merz und Winfried Kretschmann: „Pinocchio kommt nach HN“. Ist dies eine gezielte Ehrverletzung?
stimme.de
Two years after the Digital Services Act came into full effect, what does civil society look like? Mateus Correia de Carvalho & Rachel Griffin explore how different civil society actors are engaging with the DSA, and the opportunities and barriers shaping their impact.
Who Speaks and Who is Heard: Civil Society’s Role in Shaping DSA Decisions
As enforcement of the DSA is starting to solidify, civil society organizations active in this field are facing increasing political hostility.
buff.ly
“I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking up,” the German Federal Chancellor said yesterday. It is hardly surprising that calls for age verification and social media bans for minors are now being followed by demands for an end to online anonymity.
“I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking up,” the German Federal Chancellor said yesterday in his Ash Wednesday speech (https://lnkd.in/dUVH87ja) It is therefore… | A...
“I want to see real names on the internet. I want to know who is speaking up,” the German Federal Chancellor said yesterday in his Ash Wednesday speech (https://lnkd.in/dUVH87ja) It is therefore hard...
linkedin.com
Important reminder! It is a mistake to equate every intervention against Big Tech with a defence of democracy, especially given the role these platforms play in empowering marginalised voices. Some proposed cures may produce consequences worse than the disease
Who Targets Me@whotargets.me · 6mo agoMeta and Google pulling out of political ads in the EU has made it harder for the Hungarian opposition to be heard. The platforms are a long way from perfect, but they're not Orban government owned or controlled in the way much of the rest of Hungarian media is.
Meta and Google pulling out of political ads in the EU has made it harder for the Hungarian opposition to be heard. The platforms are a long way from perfect, but they're not Orban government owned or controlled in the way much of the rest of Hungarian media is.
Szabolcs Panyi@szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 6mo ago💥Dramatic turn in Hungary’s election race: Orbán rival Péter Magyar says that in 2024 his ex-girlfriend set a honey trap to secretly record them having sex—footage he claims Orbán’s camp plans to publish to ruin and blackmail him. Magyar currently holds a big lead in the polls. Election in 59 days.
YouTube seems to be at least trialing out blocking VPNs and proxies I really fear what sort of internet the future has in store for us. Probably where you have to identity yourself to every service and where anonymity and VPN use are increasingly illegal. www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/s/3...
From the Piracy community on Reddit: No more vpn allowed on YouTube
Explore this post and more from the Piracy community
reddit.com
The situation in Iran stands as a clear example of how digital sovereignty empowers repression rather than protects rights, says Azadeh Akbari. It should be a warning against abandoning the idea of a free and global internet, she writes. buff.ly/9e3UUoO
