Systemische Desinformationsregulierung

This study develops, from the perspective of European law, a concept for the systemic regulation of disinformation on online platforms aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the public opinion-formation process in the European Union. Against the backdrop of disinformation events between 2016 and 2025 and the changing conditions of platform-based communication, it examines - on the basis of the fundamental rights of the European Union, in particular the scope of protection of freedom of expression under Article 11(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights - how proportionate disinformation regulation can be designed within the framework of Articles 34 and 35 of the Digital Services Act and implemented, for instance, through a code of conduct pursuant to Article 45.
The study combines a doctrinal legal analysis of freedom of expression with legal-philosophical and legal-sociological perspectives, drawing on emergence theory to explain how individual disinformative expressions transition from the discursive micro-level to the macro-level of public discourse. On this basis, it develops the concept of disinformation dynamics as an operational point of reference for systemic risks within the meaning of the Digital Services Act.
The result is a proposal for a procedural regulatory architecture that, instead of relying on substantive assessments of truth, is based on a rebuttable presumption of disinformation and, where such suspicion is triggered, enables rights-compliant regulatory measures through a discursive reversal of the burden of proof. An interdisciplinary analysis of AI-based algorithmic detection methods - including knowledge-based, style-based, and dissemination-based approaches - demonstrates the technical feasibility of the concept and identifies the requirements for accuracy, fairness, and explainability in automated disinformation detection.
The study thus contributes to the doctrinal development of European platform regulation and outlines ways to safeguard public opinion formation as a foundation of democracy in the digital sphere.