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03.02.2026
Andreas Baur discusses the Internet of Commons on 17 Feb. in Berlin
Andreas Baur, Alexander Filipović, Theresa Züger and Jürgen Müller discuss ways to achieve an Internet oriented towards the common good at the invitation of the Christian Social Ethics Working Group.
The internet is a prime example of a virtual commons, i.e. a shared resource. It owes its existence to the active participation of all those who use and develop it. However, the increasing appropriation of the internet by a small number of market-dominating companies is in full swing.
In view of this development, there are growing calls to restore the internet to its original character as a ‘commons’. How can users gain real freedom of choice about which information, services and products they want to use or contribute themselves? How important are demands for ‘digital sovereignty’, ‘public digital infrastructure’ or ‘basic digital services’? How can we address the challenge that technical infrastructure and access – servers, networks and platforms – are often controlled by the private sector, meaning that commercial logic determines many investments, innovations, forms of access and possibilities for use?
Panel guests:
Dr. Theresa Züger, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
Andreas Baur, University of Tübingen and Critical Infrastructure Lab Amsterdam
Jürgen Müller, Head of the Policy and Digitalisation Department at the FFederal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Berlin
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Alexander Filipović, Professor of Social Ethics, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Vienna
The event is the public part of the 2026 Berlin Workshop Discussion of the ‘Working Group on Christian Social Ethics’ at German-speaking universities, which is dedicating this year's symposium to the topic of ‘Social Ethics of the Commons’.
The event is open to the public and free of charge, but registration is required: https://www.katholische-akademie-berlin.de/veranstaltung/internet-of-commons-wege-zu-einem-gemeinwohlorientierten-internet/#event-register
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