Dr. Jan-Hinrik Schmidt speaks at the
Department of Communication and Media Science at the University of Zurich about how online intermediaries such as Google, YouTube or Facebook influence information management and the opinion-forming process.
Online intermediaries want to be seen as "platforms" and try to create the image of a neutral infrastructure that does not influence the selection of content. However, they still control the flow of information and the resulting opinion-forming practices to a large extent. This lecture outlines the basic principles of the media logic of intermediaries, assesses their consequences (e.g. access to diverse media content vs. promotion of structural deformations such as "filter bubbles" and "echo chambers") and proposes options for further regulation.
