An Interview with Elisa Lindinger
"Digital platforms are a two-edged sword."

In this interview, Elisa, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Superrr Lab, delves into the German discourse on Digital Media and Democracy and explores the impact of disinformation, hate speech, and digital violence. She also discusses the roadmap for restructuring digital platforms to prioritize the public interest and societal well-being, offering a glimpse into Germany's ongoing efforts in shaping a responsible digital future.

How is the discussion about digital media and their impact on democracy in Germany? What are the key positions in this discourse?

I believe that the German discussion on digital media and democracy is not too different from that in many other countries: Disinformation and misinformation play an important role, especially in the light of the upcoming elections within the EU in 2024 and in Germany in 2025. How can we fight them, and who should it be that fights them – or has that become impossible by now? Other topics range from digital violence and hate speech online. They, too, impact democracy: people affected by violence in general, by digital violence and by hate speech are more likely to withdraw from public discourse. This means that their voices are heard less and less in public. And since (digital) violence affects people who are already at risk, disadvantaged, and discriminated against, they lose an important platform to participate in democratic dialogue.

Civil society groups within Germany are somewhat at odds on how to resolve these challenges. Should the state step up? Can regulation help? Or should it be left to platforms and digital citizens to figure out how to govern digital spaces? As usual, these questions call for nuanced answers that take potential changes in the future into account. The EU already experienced a political shift to the right. We need to take this into account when we choose our tools to shape digital spaces.

In your experience, how have digital platforms reshaped the landscape of civic engagement? Can you share some innovative approaches you've witnessed or employed in leveraging digital platforms for social good and activism?

The pandemic had an enormous impact on civic engagement in Germany. Many local, volunteer-run initiatives had to figure out quickly how to keep up their work digitally during lockdowns. And even though it wasn't easy for many, I would say: most organisations fared well, and found new ways to connect with their communities. And going digital, of course, enables you to connect with similar groups in other places.

Activism and civic engagement are always tough, but there are factors that can make it easier. Simple tools, e.g. for video calls or file sharing, can make a bigger difference in collaboration than a shiny new application. The adoption of these simple tools has a bigger impact than the many wannabe innovative approaches that sprung up in the past years, I would say. On the other hand, activism needs information, and that is often hard to come by. Platforms like FragDenStaat that enable people living in Germany to send out and manage FOIA requests, make a real difference in that regard.

How do you perceive the differential experiences of marginalised communities on digital platforms? What measures do you think can be taken to mitigate existing inequalities?

Digital platforms are a two-edged sword. They amplify hate and disinformation campaigns against people from marginalised communities, but also give many of them a way to connect and be seen. We have seen this after the changes on Twitter when some users decided to leave. But users from marginalised groups, even though suffering most from the changes in platform governance, were among those who stayed, because their online audiences are crucial to them, and re-building them on other platforms is nearly impossible.

Inequalities exist in the "real world" and therefore manifest themselves online as well – sometimes more tangibly, sometimes less so. Mitigating these inequalities online, without understanding the factors that contribute to them offline, is bound to fail. Discrimination and injustice are systemic, and we need systemic measures to alleviate them.

What would be milestones on the way to restructuring digital platforms to prioritize the public interest and societal well-being? Where do you see Germany in this regard?

If only I had the roadmap to resolve this – I am afraid that I don't! The challenges of digital platforms differ widely between communities and countries. And whatever I, from my limited experiences, can propose to improve things might actually make things worse for other people. So while I don't know what milestones are further down the road, I do know that we need to exchange, listen, learn, and discuss our options to improve digital platforms openly and critically. Germany is currently working on an international digital strategy, and we advocate for it to be co-created with our partners in the majority world. This would be the first, tiny step!

What are the fields of activity of Superrr Lab in this regard?

All we do builds on the work that other organisations and activists have been doing for a long time. I think it is crucial to acknowledge this because this is because our work is not about a single organisation, it is about a movement that started before Superrr was founded four years ago. But here is what we have been working on: A couple of years ago we worked with the German Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection on a participatory workshop on digital public spaces. The participants came up with great ideas for small changes to push for. For example: the Regret Button, with which we can show that our sentiment shared in an earlier post has changed, without the need for deleting it.

We have since published Feminist Tech Principles that were created with inspiring experts in the field. They can inform the creation and deployment of technologies. On a meta-level, we published a framework for a Feminist Digital Policy. It aims to approach digital policy from a social point of view, instead of focusing only on the economy or national security. We hope that inspires policymakers in Germany and beyond to look at the digital transformation as a potential force for justice – if we get it right!