Germany’s top media regulator has called for new rules to enforce greater diversity of content on social media platforms, arguing that algorithms should give more prominence to reliable and socially relevant information.
Thorsten Schmiege—president of the Bavarian State Centre for New Media and current chair of the country’s state media authorities—said platforms such as X and TikTok should be subject to a legal “diversity obligation.” He also called for the removal of the platforms’ “liability privileges,” arguing that companies curating and monetising content must take greater responsibility for what is published:
My demand to politicians: you don’t have to introduce exorbitant special rules for platforms. It would be enough to abolish their liability privilege.
Schmiege claimed media supervision has shifted significantly in recent years, with the majority of regulatory cases now linked to online content. He added that authorities increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to identify potential violations.
Schmiege emphasised that strengthening reliable information online is closely tied to the role of local journalism. He described local reporting as “the foundation of democracy.”
According to a recent study, cited here, around half of respondents in Germany use local journalistic sources daily. However, Schmiege warned that social media algorithms often limit the diversity of content users actually see, particularly among younger audiences who rely heavily on digital platforms for news.
