Media scholar Martin Andree in Perugia: ‘Big tech is stealing your voice’

At the invitation of the Democracy and Media Foundation (SDM), media scholar Martin Andree attended the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy. SDM Director Nienke Venema interviewed him in front of an audience of journalists.

In the session titled “How to Save Journalism from Big Tech,” Andree, a professor of digital media at the University of Cologne, warned of the democratic consequences of the power monopoly held by tech companies such as Google and Meta. “Journalism doesn’t get a fair chance in the digital world. Because their voice is being silenced, access to journalism on the internet is limited.”

According to Andree, we need to liberate the internet. “Tech companies have been telling us fairy tales about freedom of speech and freedom of the press for twenty years,” he says. But their monopoly on power is essentially anti-democratic: “We’re trapped in it.”

Watch the session here:

SDM’s Nienke Venema asked him: Has U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection—with the iconic image of the “techbros” at his inauguration—changed his story in any way? No, according to Andree. “If anything, things have moved a little faster than I expected.”

In his book *Big Tech Must Go! *, Andree argues that we have five years left before major American tech companies like Google and Meta gain complete control over our media landscape. “We’ll all be swallowed up by the major American tech companies if we don’t take action soon.”

Andree proposes six solutions to free the internet from the grip of the “tech giants,” including allowing outbound links, so that users are no longer “trapped” within the confines of a platform. Just as with our use of email, he proposes implementing open standards to enable free movement between platforms. He also wants to ban the monetization of illegal content.

The Democracy and Media Foundation (SDM) aims to stimulate discussion about the role of journalism in our democratic constitutional state. Because of his innovative and thought-provoking perspective, Martin Andree was invited by SDM to speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia.

Photo: Monica Rizza