Frankfurter Stadtgespräch: The End of the Internet? On the Regulation of Digital Society

20.11.2013

with Markus Beckedahl (Founder and Blogger, netzpolitik.org) and Alexander Peukert (Professor for Civil and Economic Law, University of Frankfurt), Moderation: Rebecca Caroline Schmidt (Managing Director of the Excellence Cluster “The Formation of Normative Orders” of the University of Frankfurt)

For many people the internet has become an indispensible part of their every day lives. We communicate through the “net” as a matter of course. Often the effects of the internet on all aspects of society seem practically inevitable, which is why often so many arguments persist about how to deal with these effects. Meanwhile, the internet is seen as a lasting phenomenon. In the twelfth Frankfurter Stadtgespräch of the Excellence Cluster “The Formation of Normative Orders” and Frankfurter Kunstverein this perspective was confronted with the question of the reverse situation. Will the internet, as we know it, soon cease to exist due to legal and technical regulations? In place of the open, worldwide, anarchic and unsecure internet could appear another form of digital interconnectedness—and also of digital society—which enables more security and control but less openness and participation. In order to look at these development, various spheres of regulation and conflict have been discussed, in particular aspects of privacy protection and data security, the regulation of personal rights and copyrights in the internet, and, not least, the future of internet neutrality. A conversation between Markus Beckedahl and Alexander Peukert, moderated by the lawyer and managing director of the cluster, Rebecca Caroline Schmidt.

Presented by:
Cluster of Excellence “The Formation of Normative Orders” in cooperation with Frankfurter Kunstverein