(de-news.net) – The Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate and chair of the Länder Broadcasting Commission, Alexander Schweitzer, has called for the rapid introduction of a digital tax directed at foreign technology firms, characterizing existing regulatory instruments as inadequate to meet current challenges. In his assessment, the protection of media pluralism in Germany requires a new and targeted policy response at both the state and federal levels. Schweitzer framed the proposal as a matter of urgency, linking it directly to structural changes in the media economy driven by the expanding use of artificial intelligence systems that draw on editorially produced content. These systems, he argued, process journalistic material and make it widely available at no cost, thereby placing sustained pressure on the revenue models of private media providers.
According to Schweitzer, this dynamic is largely shaped by major technology companies headquartered in the United States and China, whose platforms dominate the development and deployment of such AI applications. He maintained that these firms currently make only limited financial contributions to the media ecosystem, noting both the absence of specific levies tied to content use and the generally low effective tax burden they face. Taken together, he argued, these factors create a structural imbalance that disproportionately disadvantages domestic media organizations and weakens their economic viability.
Warnings of platform power over public discourse
Beyond the economic dimension, Schweitzer drew attention to the broader structural power exercised by digital platforms. Through algorithmic curation, platforms are able to determine which information is presented to users and which remains marginal or invisible, a capacity that, in his view, shapes perceptions of reality and influences the political climate as well as the space for public debate. He contended that this environment makes it increasingly difficult for citizens to distinguish between reliable, professionally produced journalism and misleading or false information, thereby posing risks to media freedom and democratic discourse.
Against this backdrop, Schweitzer emphasized that the proposed digital levy should be understood primarily as an instrument of media and democracy policy, rather than as a tool of trade or foreign policy. He indicated that consultations with his counterparts in the other Länder on the structure and implementation of such a mechanism are forthcoming. While he refrained from specifying a potential tax rate, he stressed the need for swift action and expressed the expectation that the Conference of Minister-Presidents would present a concrete proposal within the year to strengthen and safeguard Germany’s media sector.
