Put an End to the Control Exercised by Google, Meta, and Co.

On multiple occasions in recent years, Google, Meta, and others have been found guilty by European and German courts for their conduct. Typically, the cases involved treating their users like children and harvesting personal data. Just as regularly, these corporations fight back with highly paid lawyers and drag out the proceedings for years before paying fines. So we see little changes in their behavior.

A petition on WeAct now highlights another aspect that is even more difficult to address, because these customers of Google, Meta, and others do not want to file lawsuits for fear of losing business. Often, the only thing they want to do when posting about themselves and their businesses is to link to websites offering their services outside the platforms of Google, Meta, and others. As soon as they do this, they notice that their visibility decreases due to the platform’s opaque algorithm. Some platforms (e.g., Instagram) outright ban such links in posts and only allow “Link in Bio,” as the petition states. It goes on to say:

To completely capture our attention, Big Tech has turned its platforms into digital prisons.

The German states now have the chance to free us from this: In the draft of the State Treaty on Digital Media, they do at least plan to ban the discrimination against certain content. But that doesn’t go far enough.
We demand: Freedom to link out for everyone!

Why is this important?

Imagine telling your friends about a great book, a club, or a blog — and suddenly someone forbids you from mentioning it. That’s exactly what’s happening online right now: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms penalize content that includes links to external sources — so-called “outlinks.” Either such links can’t be included at all (for example, in Instagram posts), or the algorithm penalizes us and rarely displays posts that link to our own website, podcast, citizens’ initiative, or cultural organization. That means: no reach, no clicks — and a post reaches almost no one anymore!

This is no coincidence — it’s a business model:
Platforms keep us, our thoughts, and our content trapped within their ecosystems.
This undermines our democracy and our diversity of opinion.

Read more https://weact.campact.de/petitions/digitalknast-offnen-mehr-sichtbarkeit-fur-alle-im-netz

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