re:publica 25
26th-28th May 2025
STATION Berlin

At the beginning of the year, Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to revise Meta’s content guidelines and reportedly sought support from the Trump administration to shield the company from stricter European regulations. Meanwhile, since Elon Musk's acquisition of X, the platform has faced widespread criticism for an apparent surge in hate speech, disinformation, and harmful content, with concerns that Musk is exercising unchecked control over the platform. This raises an urgent need for discussions around the regulation of Big Tech and the implementation of effective platform oversight.
At re:publica 25, we will be assessing these current developments : What approaches are there and what is the situation regarding enforceability? What works – and what doesn't? How are the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation monitored and enforced in Germany?
The four digital experts discuss why we need strong institutions and what opportunities there are for individual users to take action and defend themselves.
Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider has been the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information since September 2024. She previously held the Chair of Civil Law, Data Economy Law, Data Protection, Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. As Director, she headed both the Institute for Commercial and Economic Law at the Faculty of Law and Political Science and the Centre for Medical Data Usability and Translation (ZMDT).
Andreas Mundt has been President of the German Federal Cartel Office since 2009. He has been a member of the Bureau of the OECD Competition Committee since 2010 and Chairman of the Steering Group of the International Competition Network since 2013.
Klaus Müller has been President of the German Federal Network Agency since March 2022. He was previously a member of the Executive Board of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband: vzbv) from 2014-2021. From 2006 to 2014, he headed the Consumer Advice Centre North Rhine-Westphalia. Prior to this, the economist was active in politics: from 2000 to 2005 as Minister of the Environment in Schleswig-Holstein, until 2006 as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. From 1998 to 2000, Klaus Müller was a member of the German Bundestag and previously an employee of Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein.
MODERATION: Markus Beckedahl is one of the the founders and curatorial director of re:publica. A blogger from the very beginning, he founded netzpolitik.org, one of the most influential non-profit media in Germany with a focus on digital rights, and has received numerous awards as editor-in-chief. He has been publishing a newsletter on digitalpolitik.de since 2024. Between 2010-2013, Markus Beckedahl was an expert in the German Bundestag's Enquete Commission on "Internet and Digital Society" and has been a member of the Media Council of the Berlin-Brandenburg Media Authority since 2010.
We are already looking forward to Klaus Müller, Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider and Andreas Mundt in conversation with Markus Beckedahl at #rp25. Join us! Tickets are available here.
The motto of re:publica 25 is ‘Generation XYZ’. What is your message for future generations with regard to the digital society?
Klaus Müller: ‘The DSA provides the framework for safer and fairer digital co-operation - now it's up to all of us to bring it to life.’
Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider: ‘Digitalisation demands a lot from us: speed, rethinking and a different way of working. Platforms and technologies are changing our society. However, we must not lose sight of our European values - and we must not play economic progress and social concerns off against each other.’
Andreas Mundt: ‘The digital society thrives on competition and innovation. My appeal to future generations: Remain critical, defend freedom of choice and fairness, demand transparency and give space to new ideas. This is the only way to keep the digital economy fair and sustainable.’