On Monopolies, Media Power, and Reclaiming Digital Sovereignty

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The power of digital corporations is growing – including politically. According to a new analysis by LobbyControl, the major US tech companies have increased their lobbying spending in Brussels to a record level of 151 million euros per year. This means the digital industry surpasses all other sectors. Consequently, there are now more tech lobbyists than Members of the European Parliament.

Martin André, Wolfgang Kreißig, and Tobias Keber, the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Baden-Württemberg, discussed this at the AI Week. Even well-intentioned regulation has had little effect so far. Big Tech largely writes the rules of politics.

"The Free Internet Has Been Abolished"

"The free internet has been abolished," stated media scientist Martin André. According to André, Tim Berners-Lee had envisioned it such that "every node is equal. You see on the right side what we have now: the corporations have managed to suck out essentially all usage, all traffic from the network." Today, the internet is no longer a public sphere but a corporate infrastructure: "The internet is still there, but it's empty of traffic. There's nothing left because all the traffic is now in the platforms' silos."

According to André, 86 percent of the market capitalization of all platforms lies with US companies. Under such conditions, "we de facto have monopolies on the internet – and a graveyard." Furthermore, André explained how the digital industry politically secures its dominance. Tech corporations not only have enormous economic influence but are also perfectly organized politically. Through lobbying power, they manage to shape even laws directed against them in such a way that they ultimately have no effect. He referred to this as "lobbying horror stories." Political discussions, however, are already lost when the word "regulation" is uttered.

"We have given them a whole series of legal privileges" – from the lock-in privilege, which forces users into closed platforms, to the liability privilege, which absolves corporations of legal responsibility. The monopoly situation is based solely on misregulation and legal privileges "that we have created ourselves. We can abolish them immediately, and poof – the monopolies will crumble to dust," said André. "We will take away the privileges of the absolutist digital rulers and liberate the internet. The discourse of liberation will then be ours – and no longer with the tech corporations."

Why Regulation Has Little Effect in the Current System

Wolfgang Kreißig, President of the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg, confirmed the problem: "From the perspective of a democratic society, there is currently no digital sovereignty. Anyone who believes otherwise is fooling themselves." This is because the large platforms have "the best lawyers." "They don't write less than 100 pages per brief. Of course, the proceedings drag on for years." Regarding LobbyControl, he said: "Never before has so much lobbying money been spent in Brussels – 151 million euros. Of course, one wonders if independent regulation has any chance at all under these conditions."

Regulation is being created at the European level – for example, through the Digital Services Act (DSA) – but its implementation is constantly being slowed down. "The platforms sue, delay, obstruct. Every new law initially gets stuck in endless proceedings," said Kreißig.

Lobbying Horror Stories

All of this costs a lot of money, and the proceedings weaken the system and delay solutions. "And the lobby specifically closes every loophole. That's how we fall behind," complained Kreißig. André clarified that regulation alone is too late if it only focuses on market mechanisms: "Digital democracy – that's what comes after democracy. If democracy is abolished now [...], then the new order is the digital democratic order."

This order is characterized by algorithmic power structures: "The platforms polarize, spread disinformation, hate, incitement, and scorn increase. What gets run over? Things like journalism, science, moderate parties." André advocated for telling the "story" the other way around. "We will take away the privileges of the absolutist digital rulers and liberate the internet."

Liability and Its Limits

For André, it is clear: "Wherever money flows, there must be liability." Anyone who operates a business model based on third-party content or public communication must also bear responsibility for it. It cannot be the case that platforms profit while the damage occurs in society. For him, liability is not a restriction but a necessary accountability in democratic markets.

However, Keber viewed this demand critically in his role as a data protection officer. A blanket liability could lead platforms to preemptively delete content, filter it, or extensively analyze communication data to avoid risks. Those with sufficient resources could meet any liability rule – but smaller, independent providers would be squeezed out. This threatens an imbalance. Stricter liability would hit the wrong people and shift power dynamics.

Freedom Through Regulation

Here, André said, the perspective shift begins: "We are the liberators, not the police." Regulation is not a contradiction to freedom but its foundation. It serves to limit power, secure diversity, and give people back control over their data and digital spaces.

Keber also built on this, but emphasized that regulation only creates freedom if it is independent and oriented towards the common good. "Only when regulation does not get lost in the lobby networks can it simultaneously protect and liberate."

Regulation only works if it does not get lost in the lobby networks. It must be conceived independently; otherwise, it becomes a fig leaf. Democracy did not arise analogously, but it must survive digitally. "If we want to protect it, we must re-spell the law – into the code of the future," said Keber. Only then can regulation truly counteract power, money, and the sluggish convenience of an entire society.

AI Real-World Labs

Regulation and progress do not have to be opposites. Keber positively highlighted one of the AI real-world labs initiated in Baden-Württemberg in this context. "There is this idea of real-world labs to determine, together with the supervisory authority: How does something work, how does it not work?" said Peter Nägele. This allows projects to be tested in reality. André supported this because "you recognize much faster what it's actually about."

Nevertheless, he concluded that it would soon be too late to break up the monopolies. "Digital sovereignty means taking responsibility. Regulation alone is not enough, we must protect ourselves as a society," warned Kreißig. "We have allowed the monopolists to shape the playing field. Now we have to take it back – before the game is over," said André.

(mack)