Where the Wind Doesn't Blow: The Chances of “Smalltech” – Alternative, Democratic Content Moderation Through Community-Involvement

Smalltech are small and medium-size or niche platforms. Research as well as lobbying did not exist so far, as there is a strong focus on the bigtech companies like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube - that is usually where the wind blows... Smalltech platforms have developed approaches to content moderation that work in an unconventional and community-oriented way and are overlooked in the context of platform governance and hardly taken into account in current regulations (Digital Services Act, NetzDG).

The talk will present study results on how community-involved approaches are  a successful alternative  to deal with the challenge of content moderation and freedom of speech. It will also point to actors in the field, such as smalltech, that are overlooked but can be relevant for discussion on regulations in the field of content moderation. Especially if we wish a more democratic internet, one in which communities can actually have the power to participate in decisions about which posts are taken down or stay up.